International Breastfeeding Week!

It is International Breastfeeding Week!

Thank you to all the mommies who have given such a precious gift to their children, our earth, and the future.

It is only in the act of nursing that a woman realizes her motherhood in visible and tangible fashion; it is a joy of every moment.
~Honore de Balzac

Breastfeeding is one of my biggest passions and accomplishments. I believe that every baby deserves the right to mother's milk. I try very hard not to be a judgemental person but I find it impossible to remain nuetral on the topic of breastfeeding. I understand that some women are truly unable to breastfeed for legitamate reasons (laziness not being one of them). I can't imagine how devastating that must be for a mother and I realize every day how lucky I am that I can provide nature's most perfect food to my little Lennon. He is 16 months old now and I don't think he plans on giving up the boob anytime soon : ) It's not like breastmilk loses its nutritional value after a baby turns one. After all, people who have had serious illnesses, diseases, and organ transplants are advised to drink mother's milk (which you can buy at milk banks). For mother's who are unable to breastfeed, I just found out that the Weston A. Price Foundation has a baby formula recipe which uses raw cow's milk. Someone is buying milk from our dairy right now to make it and I've heard their baby is doing great.   

Here are some of my favorite quotes on breastfeeding:

While breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for every baby. ~Amy Spangler

People need to understand that when they're deciding between breastmilk and formula, they're not deciding between Coke and Pepsi.... They're choosing between a live, pure substance and a dead substance made with the cheapest oils available. ~Chele Marmet

When she first felt her son's groping mouth attach itself to her breast, a wave of sweet vibration thrilled deep inside and radiated to all parts of her body; it was similar to love, but it went beyond a lover's caress, it brought a great calm happiness, a great happy calm. ~Milan Kundera


Ah, the joy of suckling! She lovingly watched the fishlike motions of the toothless mouth and she imagined that with her milk there flowed into her little son her deepest thoughts, concepts, and dreams. ~Milan Kundera

A woman's life isn't worth a plateful of cabbage if she hasn't felt life stir under her heart. Taking a little one to nurse, watching him grow to manhood, that's what love is. ~Carol Shields, The Stone Diaries

When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to claim an aspect of our power as women. Thinking that baby formula is as good as breast milk is believing that thirty years of technology is superior to three million years of nature's evolution. Countless women have regained trust in their bodies through nursing their children, even if they weren't sure at first that they could do it. It is an act of female power, and I think of it as feminism in its purest form. ~Christine Northrup

Breastfeeding is a mother's gift to herself, her baby and the earth. ~Pamela K. Wiggins

Mother's milk, time-tested for millions of years, is the best nutrient for babies because it is nature's perfect food. ~Robert S. Mendelsohn