You are now 1 month and 3 weeks
Little Pebble!
We went to see another
pediatrician last 23 October. She said that you now measure 52 centimetres
(about 20.5 inches) and weigh 3.5 kilos. We will likely be switching to this pediatrician. She supports breast feeding and is lucid with her explanations
regarding most of Mommy’s queries. She also has a baby-friendly system of
scheduling check-ups. We see her on a
particular time slot instead of waiting interminably until our turn gets
called. Mommy believes that we should
limit your exposure to the hospital as much as possible especially with your
undeveloped immune system.
Remember we mentioned to you
before that we will be breastfeeding you? It was challenging the first few
weeks after you were born but we have finally gotten over the hump. We did well as a team – you, Daddy, and
Mommy. Mommy also had lots of support from her breastfeeding advocate friends.
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| Thank you Ninang Cristine for this book! |
Why are we going through all this
trouble of breastfeeding? Penelope Leach in her, “The Essential First Year”
enumerates the following benefits:
1.
Breast milk is uniquely right
for you adjusting itself to your age, stage, and even conditions. If the
weather is warm and you need extra water for example, breast milk will adjust
to the situation and provide it (which is why, we don’t need to give you water
just yet).
2. Breast milk changes within each
feeding to accommodate your appetite. This
not only means more contentment but less risk of obesity. The first milk you get from each breast, the
foremilk, is low in calories so you can suck for thirst and pleasure without
feeling too full. It’s when you empty
the breast that you get the high-nutrient hindmilk (this explains why you have
to feed at least 10 minutes from each breast).
3.
Breast-fed babies have fewer or
less severe respiratory infections and long-lasting colds and fewer episodes of
wheeziness and glue-ear than bottle-fed babies.
4.
Breast-fed babies suffer fewer
urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, and bouts of diarrhea
(breast-fed babies will hardly get constipated too!).
5. Breast-fed babies are less likely
to develop juvenile diabetes (Mommy is concerned about this given her family
history of diabetes).
6. They are less likely to become obese
in childhood (Statistics show that childhood obesity is on the rise which is
easy enough to substantiate. There is a substantial number of rotund formula-fed 10-month old babies in our
building.).
7.
Breast-fed infants’ immune
systems are more effective, which reduces the risk of disorders such as asthma
and eczema, even where there is a family history of them.
8.
Breast-feeding reduces the
small chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome even further.
Here’s the clincher why we must
persist with breastfeeding, Little Pebble.
Research suggests that breast-fed babies turn out to be more
intelligent. Recent large studies found
that six-year olds who have been exclusively breast-fed as babies score an
extra 5.9 points in a battery of IQ and performance tests!
We have been spending quality time
as a little family the past three weeks, bello.
Daddy (a.k.a. the Master Chef) has been whipping up dish after dish for us. He
probably fears you and Mommy might revert to Mommy’s bacholerette tuna dinners
once Daddy goes back to work. Of course we won’t. Ever since you’ve been in Mommy’s tummy, we
don’t do those tuna-from-the-can dinners any longer, have we? Mommy has been
learning to cook and even Daddy has noticed that Mommy has not mentioned
anything about bringing her favourite Australian canned tuna when he flew over
six weeks ago. We are conscious now of
what Mommy eats because you are ingesting the same. Mommy, whose blood probably
contained more caffeine than water before she had you, is disciplining herself
with her coffee intake. While
breastfeeding mothers are allowed about two cups of coffee a day, Mommy does
not go more than a cup per day. During
your early weeks, she would just take a sip from Daddy’s espresso or cafe
latte.
Daddy has gone back to work this
week and it’s just been you and Mommy getting up for the late night and early
morning feedings. We’ve missed a feeding
or two (Mommy sleeps like a log). Daddy
said Mommy has to put the alarm clock far from her reach so she gets up instead
of reaching over for it. You’re not
supposed to go for more than four hours without feeding. So we will try that tonight, shall we, bello?
POSTSCRIPT:
You can now easily move your head
from side to side. Check out this video!
We’re still working on getting
into a reading habit. We will eventually get there.
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Thank you Diane for the bedtime book!
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