Nursing beyond one year any benefit?

Trevor is 18 months today and I'm still nursing him99%. Only offer formula when I'm away or when my nipple is very sore and need to rest.

Coincidentally 2 person asked me if I was going to stop breastfeeding last week since Trevor is already over one year, telling me that there's no more value in breast milk after one year. If you think there's no value in breastfeeding after a year, wait, check this out :)

Interesting articles about nursing beyond one year:)

Contrary to common belief and some doctor's advice to stop nursing beyond a year, they might be misinformed. This is what research has shown. World Health Organisation also recommends nursing 2 years and beyond.

FROM
La Leche League International
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug90p99.html

What Research Shows

Research shows that babies may benefit from nursing beyond one year. One benefit is nutrition. Research has shown that second-year milk is very similar to the first-year milk nutritionally (Victora, 1984). Even after two years or more it continues to be a valuable source of protein, fat, calcium, and vitamins (Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978).

A second benefit is immunity to disease.

A third health benefit is avoidance of allergies.

Psychological Considerations

Any mother who has nursed an older baby knows the tenderness and feelings of closeness generated by nursing a little one who is old enough to talk about it. We don't need medical journals to tell us it's rewarding for mother and baby.

FROM kellymom.com

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-myths.html

Visit the link to find out the TRUTH about these MYTHs.

MYTH: Mother’s milk becomes less nutritious after the first year.

MYTH: The immunities in mother’s milk are insignificant after the first few months.

MYTH: Extended breastfeeding makes a child overly dependent and can cause psychological harm.

Nursing After the First Year

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/index.html

I nursed Tristan till he was 26 months and self weaned when I was 3 months pregnant with Trevor. Due to hormonal changes, my milk supply when down and probably taste different ( judging from Tristan reaction when he suckled, let go and looked at my nipple with a weird face. ) He stop asking to nurse after that.

I am still nursing Trevor till as long as he wants and as long as I still have milk. :)

We're no longer 3 but four !

Wow time flies when you have 2 kids! The last I wrote was before I gave birth. Well that explains my life for the past few months!

Dont ask me why I'm awake at 4am in the morning... heheh.. suddenly remembered I had a blog and miss blogging :)

Well being a mother to number 2 is somewhat different, chaotic sometimes, blissful at other times. It's back to sleepless nights, endless feeding and changing diaper sessions, learning to multi-task parenting 2 ->e.g. breastfeeding and chasing after a toddler who just peed in his pants and running all over the place with his wet pants!

Many things happened and changed the way I looked at things.
LABOUR
Back to when I gave birth to Trevor... -> I prayed and thank God that Trevor came naturally on Sunday 21st Dec 2009, 3.45KG, instead of being induced, overdue by 5days. My labour was shorter, but I felt it was more intensed. It started at 8am with some 'stomachache' and was admitted at 10am. 2pm baby was out! This time round I kinda know what to expect and could focus and did a better job at relaxing during the contractions. Probably explains the shorter labour. I didnt take the 'gas' as I didnt want the nausea feeling, so I was awake and conscious the whole time, therefore i could feel everything. Dont know whether good or not:) The last time I was 'high' on gas so didnt exactly remembered what when on. But I'm just happy the labour was over!

After Labour
BREASTFEEDING!
After breastfeeding Tristan for 26mths, I thought.. should be no problem with no.2. I'm a breastfeeding counsellor so should set a good example, total breast milk all the way! And so I thought...
Every baby is unique, so is every labour and every breastfeeding experience.
I didnt prepare any nursing cream as I thought nipple should be 'season' already but I was wrong. The first feed was good, Trevor latch on pretty well and sucks very strongly. But hhmmm.. he is a hourly feeder! I was super tired and nipple sore like crazy. I was paranoid and keep asking Chris to check on baby make sure he was not fed formula as it may compromise the success of breastfeeding. So I was bit stressed up and exhausted, couldn't rest properly. The next day the Pediatrician came in and was concerned that Trevor has not peed or poo since birth. I cant remember the exact words but he said something like this: it is great that I choose to breastfeed, but I need to exercise balance and put baby's health as priority. He said it in a very nice way that I didnt feel that I was reprimanded for insisting on Total breast milk. I thought about it, worried for baby + sore nipples + every hour feed + super exhausted... I decided to top up with formula. Fill with guilt, but I knew I had to make a decision there and then.
I continue to feed directly and top up with some formula after every feed for about 3 days until the milk came in. I was surprised that this time round I have engorgement and too much milk. (didnt know too much milk will be a problem too)
-> that's a whole new story and topic..
On the 4th day, I'm happy and lucky that I manage to switch back to total breast feeding without nipple confusion and other problems. And I'm still happily breastfeeding now. :)

Thinking about it now, I realized that there are ideals and sometimes we give ourselves a hard time for trying to match these ideals and forget about our priorities and what is more important. I learnt that in life we have to strike a balance in everything and my view of things changed. I admit I was paranoid and went the other way of 'blaming' formula companies and their unethical marketing for being the cause of many lives in 3rd world countries. I was angry with formula for a while. I'm not saying that I forgive their act, it's still unacceptable but I have come to terms with it. It has changed the way I counsel as a breastfeeding counselor. Every effort that a mother makes to breastfeed is great and should be praised and encouraged. No mother should be made to feel bad that when they have failed. I'm sure the decision made under different circumstances has been thought about and is not easy. However amount of breastmilk that a mother manage to give is good for the baby.

Of course I still stand by that knowledge gives strength and together with will power and perserverance, every mother can succeed in breastfeeding. My role is to encourage and provide information so that mothers can breastfeed successfully and breastfeed longer.

Here's part 1 of my life after Trevor's born... will write again on
1) Tristan's reaction to new baby brother
2) Tristan going to school
3) Tristan entering toddlerhood
4) Our first holiday to Port Dickson as a family of four
5) Changes in our family dynamics
6) Managing 2 + Business (MummyHugs) + Studies (Kindermusik)! (or so I try)
7) How's Trevor different from Tristan.
-> Trevor growing big and fast. He seems to do everything faster than Tristan :)

Stay tuned.

Breastfeeding during pregnancy.

Wow... 2 blogs in a day?... hhmmm...cant sleep- nose is congested ... Decide to research on something which I wanted to do long ago.

Breastfeeding during Pregnancy.

I received a lot of concern from family and friends re: me breastfeeding during pregnancy. Most are worried for my depleting health, priority should go to the baby in my womb, and I should wean Tristan off.

Once again, lucky for me that I have my sister in law as a role model. She continued nursing her first one ( then about 1 and half years ) while pregnant, and continue breastfeeding both till about 3-4 years of age. So being pregnant does not seem to be a good reason to stop breastfeeding.

But I didn't have knowledge to back me up, so I got swayed away... reducing breastfeeding and actually thinking of weaning. Actually I don't mind the weaning part, it's just that I wish the decision to wean is between me and Tristan rather than doing it because of external pressure. I prefer to let him lead the weaning off breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is more than just a source of food and nutrition anymore, it's about the relationship and the bond between me and my son. I still want to continue to this relationship as long as we both want it.

Here are some interesting information that I found that really clear my doubts on whether it is safe to continue breastfeeding, whether is it ok, whether mother's or the health of the baby in the womb will be affected, and what nutrition should the nursing mother be aware of.

Kellymom: Nursing for two http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/index.html.

Nurtrition for Mom http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/04momnutrition.html

My Lactation Story

Friday 3rd August, Sunny

Ok... I have been trying to write this lactation story of mine for ages.
Now that I have decided to become a breastfeeding counselor, part of my first assignment to be considered to undergo the training is to write my lactation story.
Tristan is now 15 months and yes I am still breastfeeding :) yes! I am! For those who do not have a child or never breastfed this may be... weird, but for those who knows.. it's a acheivement. Well, it's a achievement for me at least. So here goes my story :

Title: Journey of a new mom in breastfeeding.


In the beginning
When I was pregnant, I was asked if I was going to breastfeed? I said yes. Partly because I was fortunate to have a sister in law who successfully breastfed her 2 girls till about 4 years of age. With a role model before me, I thought I will do my best at nursing my first born at least for the recommended 6 months.

The day came when I was in labour for 16 hours. I was extremely exhausted. I carried my little Tristan in my arms, so tiny, so fragile. After 9 months of anticipation and 16 hours of labour, it was indeed worth it. I thank God for my little angel from heaven.

My first experience of nursing
About two hours later, Tristan started crying. It was time for me to breastfeed for the first time. With a bit of guidance from the nurse, I fed him his first meal. Well, what the book said was true, babies are born with the reflex of suckling. I sang him little tunes and prayers while I nursed him. It was a magical moment.

2 hours later, I woke up.. without any alarm. Coincidentally, Tristan was crying in the next room and was brought to my arms again, hungry. Little did I realised that his tummy will be my alarm from now on. And.. it's every two hours, even through the night. My motherhood journey has only just begun. After we return home, Tristan was waking up in shorter and shorter intervals. Crying every other hour to be nursed. Tired, I carried on nursing on demand. On the third day, he surprisingly slept through from 6am to 11am. And he had whizzing sound coming from his breathing. As I was still recovering from the labour and not ready to move about freely, Chris, my husband and my nanny rushed him to the clinic. The first doctor said he had 'lung infections'! In disbelief, my husband went to another who referred him to the specialist. Arrived at the hospital, he was admitted and tests was conducted on him. Finally, to realise that he was just hungry and too tired to wake up and cry for milk. He was fed with formula at the hospital.

I had sore nipples from the every hourly feed and felt really depressed that it was my fault that he went through all that. I felt that I failed as a mother for not being able to provide milk for my son. He lost almost 500grams of weight. I was devastated; I totally blame myself for everything.

My sister in law came and together we went to the hospital to visit little Tristan. I cried the moment I saw him. He had developed jaundice and was put in the incubator with 'tubes' attached to monitor his heart beat and eye patch to cover his eyes. He looked so different from the day I met him, he lost so much weight. I tried to express my milk at the hospital, but after 10 mins, only one drop of Colostrum appeared.

We went to see the pediatrician to see if every thing was fine. In our conversation, my sister in law asked if I was able to continue to breastfeed. The doctor replied to say: 'dont be too sad, some mothers just have no milk'. I was speechless. The doctor confirmed my fears.

My sister in law told me not to worry and not to give up despite what the doctor said. She told me her milk supply only came in after 5-7 days. And from my own reading, I was told that almost 90 over percentage of woman can breastfeed. On top of that, I do not believe my breastfeeding experience will end this way, I was determined to continue nursing and pumping.

When Tristan was discharged after the fourth day, he then had developed 'nipple confusion'. When I tried to nurse him, he refused and kept turning his face away from me and cried as if asking for something else. Knowing that he had ended up in hospital from not having enough milk, we gave in and supplement with formula. He suckled happily from the bottle of formula. Although only a few drops, I still continued to express my milk and tried to nurse him every feed before giving him formula milk. This struggle lasted for a whole week.

On the 6th Day, we had a celebration for my 25th birthday. The best present I got was four ounce of breast milk! Yes I finally expressed four ounce of milk.

Without realising, I was nursing him more and giving less of the bottle. Before he reached his first month, I was really happy that I was finally able to breastfeed him exclusively.

Maternity leave over, back to work
We moved to Johor Bahru since Tristan was born as we had family members that could help care for him there. After three months of maternity, it was time to go back to work. Feeling unsure of what to do, and how to manage expressing and handling Expressed milk. I attended the Breastfeeding Mother Support Group (Singapore)Back to work workshop which gave me the confidence and knowledge to continue breastfeeding even after I went back to work.

As I wanted to spend more time with my little one and breastfeed directly as often as I can, I wrote to my boss to request for part time work. After much correspondence through phone calls and meetings, he finally managed to arrange part time work for 3 months. I was really thankful that he fought this request for me. [Actually in Singapore, the government provides a grant of WoW!(Work-Life Works) Fund, a scheme to help organizations implement flexible work arrangement, employers are more willing to arrange flexible work arrangement.]

When I went back to work, I had to carry a cold box, ice pack, pumps and containers to and fro through the customs from Johor Bahru to Bedok via public transport everyday. I was expressing diligently 3-4 times daily. Once before I leave for work, once when I reach work, once after my part time shift and once when I return home. This is so that Tristan will have enough supply for the next day. My colleague would ask if I was carrying a lunch box, well it is a lunchbox, my son's.

Traveling away from baby for work
After the part time arrangement was over, I felt the traveling was taking up too much time and I decided to sacrifice my job. I managed to find another job in Malaysia which is 10 mins away from my home. However another challenge came with this change. This new job requires occasional travel to other states of Malaysia. I panicked the day when I had to travel to KL for a weekend without baby.

I brought all my pumps, containers, ice pack along, but I was too tensed and stressed up to express much milk. I could not relax initially, but like all things, practice makes perfect. Taking deep breaths and visualizing my baby helped in let down of my milk. I would request the hotel to then freeze the expressed milk for me and plenty of ice for me to transport it from one place to another. After a couple of practice, it began easier for me to look out for places where I can pump and methods of storing and transporting my milk. I pumped everywhere, in the rest rooms of convention halls, in the car, borrowed a office room or store room, the list goes on.

Six months passed and I was still happily nursing my son, and thought I had no reason to give up. Since then, I found a way where I can spend more time with Tristan and still earn an income. I started a business manufacturing my own line of baby sling and selling them via an online store. With a baby sling, mothers can breastfeed in public more easily and in turn encouraging them to breastfeed longer. Going back to work did not stop me from giving the best to my son. I breastfeed him till today, my son will be turning 22 months in February 2008.

Last thoughts
Well, the initial 9 months of pregnancy and 16 hours was just a test of patience, strength and endurance to the mother. It was a preview of what a mother would do for her own child, a lifetime of love, sacrifices and perseverance. Although I am happy to have walked so far, my journey as a mom has only just began!