Nursing Mothers Unite!

I have 2 sisters and a brother who all mean very much to me. All of us have some young children still, and a few are still nursing their little ones. Those little guys are gorgeous babies and I want to be able to help them anytime they need me. That could be any day, near or far. So just to be prepared, I wanted to post some information that could come in handy. And if anybody else out there is a nursing mommy and can benefit from this info too, then I'm happy about that too.



If you have a little one and make that amazing choice to nurse your baby, pat yourself on the back for such a selfless act that will provide miraculous things for your child! Then immediately start working to ensure you always have plenty of milk to provide for that child as long as you choose to nurse. How? That would be the purpose of this post!



First:
STAY AWAY FROM SAGE! It might taste good in sausage or Thanksgiving dinner, but it will DRY YOUR MILK SUPPLY UP! There are tons of other spices in this vast world that you can season your foods with, so give this one up while you are lactating. If you get to the point you want to dry your milk up, you know what you can do to speed that up!



Second:
Keep your diet simple as much as you can. Yes you can eat chocolate and lasagna, but let them be treats. Fruits and vegetables are chock full of nutrients that you need. Those nutrients are easier to assimilate into your body when they come from foods. So this is the best route. The more colorful your variety of fruits and veggies, the better off you'll be. Remember that if you aren't getting enough of those nutrients, its YOU who suffers first while your body goes into your reserves and gives it to the baby. And when that is exhausted, the baby will stop getting enough. That defeats the purpose of nursing, doesn't it? It is important, so fruits and veggies, fruits and veggies, fruits and veggies!



Third:
Plenty of water is necessary too! Your body is comprised of a lot of fluids and if you are regularly sharing some of your body fluids, you will definitely need a source of replenishment. Drink lots of water! Distilled water is a good choice and so is reverse osmosis. Tap water is about as bad as drinking pond water these days, but if its your only choice,....



Fourth:
Go to the herb shop near you (or order online) and invest in a bottle of Blessed Thistle and a bottle of Fenugreek. Capsules or liquid is your choice. Fenugreek is what they use to make artificial maple syrup. You'll detect a slight scent on the capsules, and when your body has absorbed it and gotten it started working, you'll start noticing that sweet scent following you. Keep that baby suckling at this point! Baby is going to think "mmm this tastes good!" and will want a little more. The more suckling action that goes on, the more your mammary glands receive stimulation that encourages milk production. The baby likely will want a little more and thus try to nurse a little longer. It's ok...it's actually helping your milk supply increase, so let 'em nurse!



Blessed Thistle is another one that has some amazing historical uses. Seriously, google it and see what you find out! If you find any notes that include Dr. Christopher....READ THOSE! That man was the most amazing natural doctor I've ever even HEARD of! He impresses me more and more with each sentence I read that he's written. He has recorded evidences where women who have never had children were able to begin lactating and nurse babies! That's nothing short of a miracle in today's standards and what he had these women do was so simple that it's like the leppers who were cured just by washing in a river. Dr. Christopher told them to eat a good diet of mucusless foods (that means cutting out pasta, breads, meats, ....that sort of stuff), suggested they drink quarts of distilled water per day, and had them drink a cup full of blessed thistle tea at least three times a day. Imagine that,....you adopt a baby.....formula is one of your first purchases, right? Doesn't have to be though! Like I told you, nothing short of a miracle, but Dr. Christopher documented more than one occasion where an adoptive parent was able to begin nursing due to following these suggestions.



Now I make no promises, but I will say that I had plenty of milk for my firstborn, plenty (I guess) for my second born (who I swear was a cannibal baby and I had to wean her before she ate me alive!), adequate for the third born but only for the first 4 months. After that, it was a struggle,....and the fourth child got a week milk supply too. So again, I took fenugreek and blessed thistle trying to ensure he had enough to eat.



Breast milk is precious stuff, and is THE perfect food. If you can nurse your child, do. It does make a difference. In fact, my studies say that it's good to nurse till they are about 18 months old because that's when they cut their stomach teeth and eye teeth which coincides with the time when they have developed enough gastric juices to tolerate "big people foods".



I won't judge a person who doesn't nurse their baby. It's a personal choice,....I just think that if you DO choose that route that you are doing something wonderful that will have lifelong effects of a physical kind and an emotional kind.


Either way you go, I wish you luck, I wish you joy, and I wish you plenty of milk! I hope this post benefits you in some way.