God’s Plan for Me continued
A third factor in my change of mothering practices was a new Catholic obstetrician with our second baby. He was faithful to Church teaching and encouraged the use of the thermometer for family planning. He did not recommend the thermometer to me, however, because he knew I wanted to breastfeed. He told me to breastfeed exclusively and to call him when I had my first period. It was July and hot at the time. I remember asking him if I could give the baby water. His response was that my milk was adequate for the baby. He stressed that I was not to give the baby water or anything else.
His advice was so different from that of my first Catholic obstetrician who told me I would have a period within three months after childbirth no matter how I nursed my baby. I thought this first doctor was correct because I did have a period within three months after childbirth with my first baby. At the time I did not realize that this doctor was not properly informed. For several reasons I had to search for another Catholic obstetrician with the birth of our second child. I am very grateful for his “exclusive breastfeeding” advice.
Fourth, while I nursed our first baby frequently, I used an occasional bottle. Exclusive breastfeeding our second baby brought changes. I never used a bottle for her or our other children. In addition, my mothering lifestyle changed. I went from mother/baby separation to mother/baby togetherness. If I had to be somewhere, I picked up our baby and went. We also went from the lifestyle of using babysitters for our first baby to never using a babysitter for our other babies. When we began our family, my husband believed it was best to expose the baby to many babysitters. He too changed and felt baby was best with mother. In America you are unusual when you adopt a lifestyle of mother-baby togetherness. This major change in my mothering, taking the baby with me, was completely new to me; I knew no one else who did this. But it was a necessary step toward breastfeeding infertility. In addition, when you are that close to your baby, you do not want to leave the baby in the care of others. Your attitude changes.
With our first baby, my periods returned within three months after childbirth. I had attended La Leche League meetings every month and knew I should breastfeed often day and night—which I did. Yet menstruation returned early.
With our second baby my first period didn’t return until she was a year old. Why the difference? I attended La Leche League meetings while nursing my first baby and then later while nursing my second baby. At those meetings you learn to nurse your baby often day and night in order to have an ample supply of milk. The main difference was that I had changed how I cared for our baby. With exclusive breastfeeding and baby-skin irritation from a pacifier, I quit using bottles and pacifiers. Taking the baby with me whenever I left the house also allowed for more nursing if needed. In addition, co-sharing sleep allowed for frequent and unrestricted nursing all during the night as needed. The main benefit for me was that nursing was one thing I could do in my sleep and I was well rested in the morning.
To be continued next week
Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood
The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding