I was reading through the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Position Paper on doctors supporting breastfeeding.  I hear many times a week, unfortunately, from patients whose doctors are not informed on the benefits of breastfeeding.  And, sadly, these doctors do not know how to educate and support their parents so that their pediatric patients get the best health benefits from nursing. 

I have always been an advocate of breastfeeding, but my passion toward the subject has grown tremendously after nursing Harper all of these months.  As I was preparing to have Harper, I remember anticipating our breastfeeding relationship with much excitement.  Oh, I couldn’t wait to grin at my child in the wee hours of the morning, as he lay gently on my lap being satisfied by my incredible ability to feed him.  Nursing, like pregnancy, is one of those miracles that just amazes me!  However, fast forward one year and several months later, and I would definitely confess that my little daydreams of wonderful nursing experiences definitely haven’t been reality.  I can understand why moms give up.  It is not easy and definitely not always pleasant!  I think this is especially true with an extremely hungry, agile little boy.  And, although I can’t say I enjoy it, Harper will be 2 years old in a few months, and our breastfeeding relationship is still going strong.  I take it day by day, but I am not planning on weaning him soon.  Why do I stick with it since I don’t particularly enjoy it?  Or, the other question/statement I get all of the time, “You’ve made it past six months, and you’ve made it past 1 year, why are you still nursing?  Isn’t he too old for that?!  When are you going to quit?”  Just like everything else, breastfeeding is a choice with made strongly backed by research.  In these next few posts, I will explain what the research says, and why I choose to do something for so long that I don’t necessarily enjoy.  The position paper put out by medical doctors made me grin:

For the child- “In 2007, a systematic review of the effects of breastfeeding on maternal and infant health found that for infants in developed countries, notbreastfeeding is associated with increased risks of common conditions including acute otitis media, gastroenteritis, atopic dermatitis, and life-threatening conditions including severe lower respiratory infections, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sudden infant death syndrome.  The health effects of breastfeeding persist beyond the period of breastfeeding. Children who were not breastfed are at increased risk of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia.  The evidence base also supports the importance of six months of exclusive breastfeeding(when compared with four months) as protective against gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract infection, including otitis media and pneumonia.”

For the mother- “Not breastfeeding is associated with an increased risk of postpartum depression.  In the longer term, for women in developed countries, not breastfeeding is associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.^“

“As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement.  It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years.  Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection, better social adjustment, and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer.  Mothers who have immigrated from cultures in which breastfeeding beyond infancy is routine should be encouraged to continue this tradition. There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman’s personal decision. If the child is younger than two years, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.^“

“Weaning is the time of gradually transitioning infants from mother’s milk to complementary foods or an older child’s diet. In this sense, weaning begins with the introduction of solids at the middle of the first year. Complete weaning, or complete cessation of breastfeeding, ideally should be a gradual process accomplished over a long period. There is no evidence that a specific age of weaning is necessary or mandated. Like other developmental milestones, children wean when they are ready, physically and psychologically. There are several weaning techniques that can be recommended when a mother wishes to encourage the process. Medications to decrease or stop milk production are not necessary and should be avoided. Sudden abrupt complete weaning is rarely necessary, and can place the mother at risk for engorgement, plugged ducts, galactoceles, mastitis, and breast abscesses. The child may be placed at risk for infectious illnesses, dehydration, malnutrition, and psychological trauma such as feelings of abandonment.  In cases in which abrupt weaning is necessary, the advice of a lactation consultant should be sought to minimize the risks.”

I love my job, and I love that I am surrounded by precious little kids all day long.  They make life so fun!  I don’t know how people go through life and only surround themselves with adults, how boring!  Kids say and do things on a constant basis, which continuously keep us entertained and smiling.  Today, I am still laughing about a funny kid story that happened just a little while ago.  All of you nursing moms will appreciate this.

This Christmas, we went to celebrate with Jim Bob’s family, like we do every year.  At lunch, I went in his cousin’s bedroom- since everyone else was in the living room- to have some quiet, down time and nurse Harper.  His 4 and 2 year old cousins quickly followed us into the bedroom.  Shortly, their mom came running around the corner, “Girls, let’s give Cindy some privacy.”  I told her, “I don’t care if you don’t mind.”  To which she responded, “Well, she (pointing to the 2 year old) won’t notice anything, but this one (pointing to the 4 year old) is about to have a lot of questions.”  Then, she walked back out of the room, leaving the girls behind.  Harper was happily eating at this point, with only the back of his head visible, as he covered his face in my shirt.  “When will he be done?” asked the 4 year old.  “I often wonder the same thing!”  I responded to her.  She stood there intently watching him eat for a little while longer, and then quickly replied, with a precious, deep Southern accent, “He sure does like your shirt!”

First off, for the moms, very cool news to report:  My milk supply continues to do great!  Again, this is while strictly following the purification program and living my stressful schedule.  Also, two other nursing moms who are doing the cleanse reported that their babies are spitting up a lot less.  Isn’t that neat?  Every mom knows how frustrating spitting up can be, I am so happy these babies are doing well.  And, I will continue to follow everyone’s progress and keep you posted.  It makes sense though that because this program forces the majority of food allergies out of the diet, you get healthier (and so do your children!). 

I had a ton of energy yesterday, but today I have been extremely tired.  And, the Starbucks cravings are still there in a major way…  Maybe sleep and a change in the weather would help that!  However, when I eat, the cravings subside, which is good.  We have still been drinking smoothies for breakfast.  I am snacking on veggies and hummus (today we bought cilantro jalapeno hummus from Whole Foods- delish!), fruit and veggie chips (kale chips I made and sweet potato chips we bought at WF).

Snack Ideas:  Organic Medjool Dates- cut them open, remove the pits and stuff w/ organic dried coconut shavings.  These taste just like Hershey’s Mounds to me, and can quickly taste like an Almond Joy if you add an almond too (I try to minimize nuts on the cleanse though).  This is a great snack when you are craving something sweet, but if you are trying to loose weight on the cleanse, you may want to avoid these.  And, raw okra, have you tried it?  It is really good! 

For lunch yesterday, we ate at one of our favorite vegan restaurants.  If you haven’t tried it, you have to go.  Spiral Diner rocks, especially on the cleanse!  Plus, I love browsing their menu and trying their food because I have many recipes that have been inspired by this restaurant.  For dinner last night, I was rushing to a birth, and I ate leftover stew.  I also had the stew with brown rice and a spinach salad for lunch today.  On our salads, we typically use olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice and sea salt and pepper.  And for dinner tonight, we ate a very green meal of brown rice pasta (you can buy it at WF) with homemade pesto and a side of fresh steamed asparagus.

Did you know pesto is so easy to make and tastes so good without cheese and milk fats, which are typically in most pestos you buy?  I made my own tonight, and here’s the recipe:

1 cup pine nuts

¾ cup olive oil

½ large bunch fresh basil

½ cup fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp sea salt

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor (you can use a blender if you don’t have a processor) and blend to desired consistency.  Pesto is great to put on salads, over cooked veggies and brown rice.  We use it a lot on the cleanse too.  I add a bit of fresh squeezed lemon to it too.

Mixing in the food processor

Finished product, enough for tonight’s pasta and to enjoy on other dishes this week.

Our wonderful supper!  Who said being healthy can’t taste good?!  I, of course, sprinkled nutritional yeast on mine.

And our side of veggies!

Thanks for hanging with me, we are over a third of the way there!

Well, the time is upon us once again…  Cleanse time!  Our goal is for this to occur at least twice a year; however, the last time I did a cleanse was right before conceiving Harper.  So, I am way overdue!  And, the prep is in full swing.  JB has been convinced to join forces with me; after all, who wants to go through such pain pleasure all on their lonesome?  I have been on the phone with multiple friends today, begging that they join us on our mission to get pure and loose weight.  One thing I have learned after doing this program multiple times and watching plenty of friends, family and patients complete it, you are much more likely to be successful if you have a support group to go through it with you.

Why was it easier to stay healthy and watch what I ate while pregnant than while nursing?  Maybe it was the fear of having to push out a huge baby.  After all, I did visualize his/her size at birth everytime I went to put something in my mouth.  Maybe it was the fact that while pregnant I was able to go to the gym when I wanted, and I had a practically empty schedule to focus on meal planning and cooking.  Plus, there wasn’t the exhaustion factor that screwed with my hormones on a constant basis making me crave nothing but sugar…  Oh to sleep again!

Well, in order to do this, you have to get motivated…  And, for me, this takes days weeks to convince myself.  I start out arguing and hashing it out in my head.  Once I have convinced myself, I bring it up to JB, and when he agrees, I start to pull in the friends.  Then, I pull the nutrition books off the shelf, plan the grocery list and store trips, and start making room in the fridge and carving out time in the schedule to cook and cook and cook.  Tonight’s motivational read?  The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  And, how appropriate is his quote?!  I can not eat in ignorance for the next 3 weeks.  Nope, every bite will be well planned out.  After all, as I said, the planning has been happening for quite some time now.  But, the work is so worth it!  After all, it did help me conceive a beautiful, extremely healthy and brilliant baby boy last year.  What better proof that this program works?!

So, all this to say, what is the plan?  Tomorrow we start The Standard Process 21 Day Purification and Weight Loss Program.  Yes, it is perfectly safe (and extremely healthy) for pregnant and/or nursing mothers.  If someone is in that category- like myself- you simply change up the supplements and diet a little.

I plan to blog about this each day, hopefully Harper will cooperate with that plan.  Welcome to my new site!  I will show you what we take and eat and drink on a daily basis- pictures and recipes to be included.

Also, I have a fun giveaway planned for the blog, so check in frequently.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you.