There is a lot of debate about if you should continue breastfeeding after the age of 6 months, in some cases 1 year, or not. For me it's always great to experience something truly liberating to the fact that it still benefits the child. Whether or not you believe in continuing to breastfeeding or not, read my story.
Recently I looked into my freezer and realized that I had about 30 oz of frozen breastmilk that my son was not drinking, he prefers the fresh stuff.
I decided to donate it to a new mother I know who adopted a child. When I offered it she refused, not in a mean of harsh manner, she was very kind but didnt want to change her child's diet due to recently switching formula for gas problems.....
Although she was kind in telling me no I was shocked. I was hurt. I wanted to cry. How could anyone turn down something so precious, something that has been created for children to nourish and heal them. Something that people now a days do discreetly and privately as to not let people judge them, and here I was offering it to her for free!
It took me a few days to be able to tell my mother about this, she has always been so supportive in my breastfeeding and knew how much it meant to me. With tears in my eyes she comforted me in the fact that she was probably just sticking to the doctors orders and it wasn't anything that had to do with me. I knew she was right but to me I couldn't fathom not questioning my doctors orders, not trying a route that was natural for a baby. How could she not?
A few days later my mother told me of another neighbor who has a child they adopted from birth, the same age as my son, about 15 months old. The child was ill and had been since the beginning of June this year. She had soft stool and vomited at the slightest thing that made her upset. As I said this had been going on since June and baby J is probably twice her thickness. The mother was spending over $100 dollars a month on Pedi-assure and prescription medication but there was no change in her daughters health. In a desperation she called my mother so ask about some natural options. Aside from Doterra my mother suggested coconut oil massages, eating and drinking natural and fatty foods, as well as staying away from anything you can't pronounce the ingredients to.
After hearing this I asked my mom if they would accept my milk. She called right away and asked, the mother accepted the milk. When mom was delivering the milk the neighbor said that she wanted to cry because it was such a generous offer, an answer to her prayers.
Since starting to supplement her daughters diet with my milk, mixed with formula and coconut milk, her daughter has not vomited once and is eating more then she has been able to for 3 months. :-) I'm so happy! Not only for the baby girl but for the mother who was not afraid to ask is this really it. Is what my doctor says the only option.
So now I thank the first mother who refused, I'm glad that she didn't accept just to never use what I would have given her. I'm thankful for her honesty and I'm thankful that it went to someone who appreciates and is reaping the rewards of mommas milk.
Let this be a lesson to us all. Let this be a lesson to question what is being said and what is being presented to us. We are our own masters.
Breastfeeding after 1 year CAN STILL be beneficial. DONT STOP because of what anyone else says. Only ever do it because YOU feel right about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment