Love Faith of Love Your Baby

I suppose I was born yearning to become a mother. I’ve been told that as a toddler, I would nurse each of my dolls and line them up to sleep. I remember continuing to play with dolls late into my childhood, imagining so intensely that they were my real little babies. As the oldest of six kids and only girl in the family, I was privileged to participate in the joys of nurturing real babies starting with my first brother, 18 months younger than me, down to my fifth brother, 17 years my junior. In our family, breastfeeding was the only way to feed a baby. My mother tandem nursed my brother and me side by side, I observed my mother breastfeeding my twin brothers past their second birthdays, and, in my teen years, I had a more mature view as my youngest brothers, born 16 months apart, were breastfed.

For 25 years, I dreamt of becoming a mother. The moment finally arrived when my husband and I welcomed our first daughter into the world in October 2001. My first encounter with her was on the birthing bed. After a long and tedious labor she latched on with vigor and only stopped suckling when the midwives took her to be examined.

Our breastfeeding relationship continued strong. I knew very little of the technicalities of breastfeeding; I knew nothing of hours and feeding intervals or measurements. I had learned all that I knew from my mother and it seemed the most natural to respond to my baby's cues, nursing her when she needed to for whatever interval her appetite required.

Though my husband and I set up a crib for her in her bedroom, her primary sleeping place was in either of our arms or nestled safely between the mesh bed-rail on my bed and me. Becoming a mother and learning the ropes of motherhood remain the best memories of my life.

When our daughter was eight months old I became pregnant. She continued to develop and grow, as did our unborn baby and my tummy. Unexpectedly, after her first birthday, she refused to nurse. I tried every way I knew to persuade her back to the breast, but she wanted nothing to do with nursing and that was the sudden conclusion of our breastfeeding relationship.

Over the years I have learned that no two experiences are ever quite the same. Nothing is as special as becoming a mother for the first time; however, nothing is as wonderful as becoming a mother again… and again!

Our second daughter was born in March 2003. Unlike our first, our second daughter didn't begin to explore eating solid foods until she was about one year old. My two daughters were exclusively nourished with my milk, yet they each had very different needs. When my first daughter decided to stop nursing, she never looked back while my second daughter kept going strong even when my milk seemed to dry up during my pregnancy. Nothing could get in the way of a nursing and snuggle session with her!

Our firstborn is now 14 and our second is 12 and I continue fulfilling their individual needs in special ways.

Our son was born in November, 2005. My third experience giving birth was extraordinary and memorable!

My son had a completely different feeding style than my girls did. He gradually weaned at close to 20 months of age and by the time he stopped wanting to nurse I was at the end of my 4th pregnancy. Now he is 10 years old....

Our 4th child and third daughter was born September 26th, 2007. She weaned naturally and gently during my pregnancy with our fifth baby.

Our 4th daughter was born January 19th, 2010.

Children receive their life's foundation from their parents. Being a mother has heightened my appreciation for being nurtured and having my physical and emotional needs met as a child. My mother helped me be the mother that I am today and I hope to raise mothers (and fathers) of tomorrow.