 | Diary Navigation:
|
September 3, 2001
A few days ago, we were flipping through the channels on TV, looking for a movie. We found Ghostbusters II and decided to watch it. Well, Jake loved the first part, but I'd forgotten how creepy it gets. When the baby was taken by the ghost with the stroller, Jake fell apart, crying about the baby being gone. At this point, I debated turning it off. I decided to keep it on because Jake wasn't really believing me about how they rescue the baby and everything ends happily. I think he needed to see it himself. This is the first time he seemed to be genuinely concerned for the characters on TV. He was paying so much attention! In the scene where Vigo is holding the baby and making terrible faces and the baby is crying, Jake started crying with big tears rolling down his face. I really regretted not turning it off earlier. I just about turned it off then. As I hesitated, the scene ended, and I put off my decision. When the movie ended, Jake was cheering and shouting, "They did it!" He was overjoyed.
I do wish I'd changed the channel before the movie started. But once the baby was taken, I realized that if I stopped the movie then Jake might imagine a terrible ending. I think he needed to see the happy ending. And now, days later, he's not had any nightmares or even talked of the movie. Now I know I'll have to be much more careful than I'd been with what we watch on TV.
He did get a huge laugh out of the happy goo that made the Statue of Liberty walk. :)
Logan is growing like a weed. He has his four-month checkup tomorrow, and I'll share his stats then. He's wearing Jake's size 5 diapers now, and can stand up with support for balance, roll over in any direction he wants, and can reach for and grab things within his reach. He has two teeth, that can be felt as two *teeny* hard points on his gums. His hair is growing fast, and appears to be staying dark instead of going blond like his brother's.
He's still exclusively breastfed, no formula and no solids. (grin) Well, almost no solids. A couple of times, I've allowed him to lick squished-up food from my finger. He's tried teeny amounts of banana (from my real banana, not out of a jar), spaghetti sauce, plum jam, ranch dressing, and lime popsicle. (laugh) He seemed to love the banana and the lime popsicle. I don't make it a regular thing, but it's fun to see him experience new flavors.
Many mothers I talk to have introduced solids by now, and are working on sippy cups. It confuses me why they are in such a rush. When I ask, their reasons seem sound enough, but I still don't understand. Quite a few have been encouraged by their pediatricians to introduce cereal and jarred baby food. It just boggles my mind that a doctor would push solids so early, even for formula-fed babies. And to start with cereal, especially rice cereal, complicates things by constipating the baby.
I would love to see more mothers questioning their doctors about their motives, and to make informed decisions based on information from multiple sources. While starting solids early isn't a terrible decision, I believe it's unnecessary, and I'm pretty sure many mothers would agree with me after researching this and talking to other mothers and doctors. There is no accounting for personal decisions, though, and what matters most is love and dedication.
Jake is still nursing as much as ever. I don't at all mind, and am very relaxed about it. People are just now starting to comment. I was asked recently, in all respectful honesty, about nursing past two years being considered abuse, and why I continued to breastfeed my toddler when the nutrition of the milk declined at six months. I was very surprised that such ignorance continues today. The mother who asked me is a great woman with several kids of her own, but none nursed past six months, even though she says she tried her best to nurse them all for a year.
Hearing her talk about how difficult it was to keep nursing made me realize that what I took as my normal breastfeeding relationship with my sons was actually something rare and fortunate. And it made me sad. I've never had many problems breastfeeding, and even the worst ones never made me consider weaning. I've been breastfeeding for 32 months with no supply issues, through a pregnancy, through various medications for various things, through teething times two, no formula supplementation (except at the hospital), no pacifiers (for the most part), through NICU stays for both boys, no thrush infections, no mastitis, and no pumping (except during the NICU stays). All I ever did was breastfeed my babies when they were hungry. Every mother should have it as easy as I've had it.
And my scorn and disappointment in mothers who tried to nurse and then either failed or gave up or weaned very early is waning. I'm glad because it wasn't something I liked about myself. In realizing how easy breastfeeding has been for me, I realize that I am in no position to judge those who have had problems. It is not their fault, but society's in general. With misinformation rampant, I cannot honestly expect a mother to know what is true and what is false, or even to doubt the information given her.
I want to encourage everybody, whether you have children or not, to research breastfeeding. It's not some bizarre thing your body does, rather it's something as natural as breathing or sweating or crying. And breastfeeding isn't something that takes a great deal of effort and complication. It's about as hard as changing diapers. There are a multitude of options, and you need to do it frequently, and you get better and faster with practice. Breastfeeding doesn't automatically include such horrors as bleeding nipples, thrush, leaking, and engorgement. In 32 months of breastfeeding, I've experienced few of those, and never to a severe degree. For me, breastfeeding has been a simple part of raising children, probably the simplest part. I did it with little thought on the mechanics involved, and without fear of pain or shame. I just did it. And I firmly believe any woman can do it just as easily (barring the ultra-rare medical barriers such as a congenital lack of milk ducts, or the presence of radioactive isotopes, or a double mastectomy, or a breast augmentation/reduction surgery that involved a complete severing of the nipple). With education, anything is possible. Breastfeeding is every mother's right, as well as her child's.
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
