While baby girl naps I thought I’d take a moment to make a few “confessions”...if you can call them that. This post comes after a visit at the doctor’s office where a nurse made a few comments that I found to be rather strange. Here we go.
1.Yes, I “still” breast feed. My daughter is only one year (almost 13 months...didn’t she JUST have a birthday?!?). The WHO recommends breast feeding to two years. It’s not just this nurse in particular, it’s a number of people. I usually just laugh it off, but the truth is people, yes, I still nurse, and no, I don’t know when WE (yes, my baby and I) will stop. I suppose when she is ready.
It’s not like nursing is her primary source of nutrition at this stage, nor does it replace her meals, but it does soothe her, it does give us quiet time to bond, it does help her get to sleep (which is another confession), and, most importantly, it does benefit her.
Why do people take such an interest in “extended” breast feeding? I don’t mind being asked if I still breast feed, what I mind is when I am asked when I will stop because, “You can’t keep it up forever.” Thanks a heap, I thought I’d be breast feeding until she went away to university --insert eye roll here--.
On a completely different note, to those who say that breast feeding is weird, gross, that the mother “does it for herself”, clearly you have never breast fed. I would also like to say that thanks to sign language, my daughter has been able to “ask” for milk for quite a while, and, even as a newborn, she “asked” for (or demanded) milk when she cried (watch a Dunstan Baby Language video if you don’t believe me).
2. Yes, I “still” nurse to sleep. It cuts down on the time it takes to put her down. It prevents us from crying it out (CIO), which I do not like, it’s time to bond, it gives her a little something to top up her belly before bed. My daughter sleeps through the night (STTN). She sometimes does wake up in the middle of the night, but 95% of the time, can put herself back to sleep. I have also been out at bedtime and she has had no problem going to sleep when my husband puts her down. Again, why do people care how I put my baby to bed? She goes to sleep happy, that’s all that matters to me.
3.Yes, I “still” cloth diaper. This is more of an “lol” because our family doctor said, “Oh, I see you are still using the cloth diapers! Most families I see have them at 2 months, but have given up by 6 months!” It wasn’t a negative comment from him at all, but I have encountered a few people who have turned up their noses like, “ewww, gross”. News flash, dirty diapers are gross regardless, at least mine are pink.
By the way, I also use cloth wipes. ;)
4. Yes, I have let my baby have *gasp* “junk food”. Now, to be fair, it’s more my husband and her grandparents who have done this, but I too have let her have ice cream, french fries, gravy, even coffee (see my last post). However, I made my own baby food and did BLW, so the majority of what she eats is very healthy. Except cheese slices. I think she loves them more than the dog.
5. Yes, I do baby signing with my daughter, and have since she was only a few months old. She signs “milk”, “more”, “food/eat”, “dog” and “baby”...I am still trying to get her to sign “mom”. I am determined she will do “mom” before “dad”, and cannot believe she will sign “dog” to all the dogs she sees, but not “mama”.
I find it’s mixed reviews, most people are interested, a few roll their eyes, one even said I would be negatively impacting her speech. Whatever, I enjoy it, she enjoys it, and, we are communicating. Plus, the Baby Signing Time songs are so cute, here’s a cute little preview.
I can’t think of anything else at the moment, it must be the lack of caffeine coupled with my lack of lunch. The funny thing is, the majority of my mommy friends do one or more of these, but I find that breast feeding in particular is “taboo.” Why is feeding my child something I feel I should keep to myself? Strange isn’t it...
By the way, I also use cloth wipes. ;)
4. Yes, I have let my baby have *gasp* “junk food”. Now, to be fair, it’s more my husband and her grandparents who have done this, but I too have let her have ice cream, french fries, gravy, even coffee (see my last post). However, I made my own baby food and did BLW, so the majority of what she eats is very healthy. Except cheese slices. I think she loves them more than the dog.
5. Yes, I do baby signing with my daughter, and have since she was only a few months old. She signs “milk”, “more”, “food/eat”, “dog” and “baby”...I am still trying to get her to sign “mom”. I am determined she will do “mom” before “dad”, and cannot believe she will sign “dog” to all the dogs she sees, but not “mama”.
I find it’s mixed reviews, most people are interested, a few roll their eyes, one even said I would be negatively impacting her speech. Whatever, I enjoy it, she enjoys it, and, we are communicating. Plus, the Baby Signing Time songs are so cute, here’s a cute little preview.
I can’t think of anything else at the moment, it must be the lack of caffeine coupled with my lack of lunch. The funny thing is, the majority of my mommy friends do one or more of these, but I find that breast feeding in particular is “taboo.” Why is feeding my child something I feel I should keep to myself? Strange isn’t it...
So, there you have it. Some of the things I do that apparently makes me a bit of a hippy. Oh, here’s another, baby girl has been wearing an amber teething necklace since she was...I don’t know, maybe 3 months old. I also use homeopathic teething remedies. For those who say they don’t work and are only placebos, please explain to me how you give a baby a placebo? Sorry, that’s snarky, but it’s the truth. I find that the necklace really does help, which is why we continue to use it. Plus, it looks super cute.
PS, this is my first time adding hyperlinks, so I hope they work, if not, you'll just have to google.
No comments:
Post a Comment