Returning to Work
Diane
MD USA
From NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 19 No. 1, January-February 2002, p. 9
When I was pregnant with
my son, Nicholas, I knew that I definitely wanted to breastfeed because
of the great benefits in terms of nutrition and bonding. I was, however,
somewhat apprehensive. I was accustomed to a stressful job and often
felt overloaded by juggling the various responsibilities of my personal
and professional life. I decided that I would do my best. I set my goal
to nurse for at least the first three months of my baby's life.
Pushing Nicholas into the
world was the most beautiful, exhilarating experience I have ever known.
He was placed on my chest moments after he was born. He gazed up at
me with intense, deep-blue eyes, and I finally met the wondrous being
whom I already felt I had come to know. He took my nipple right into
his mouth with very little need for direction, and thus began our nursing
relationship. After an initial period of sleepiness in the hospital,
Nicholas took to breastfeeding like a natural, taking in all he could
and often nursing for up to 45 minutes at a time. I had some discomfort
from engorgement and then nipple soreness, which was easily remedied
by Lansinoh ointment. Nicholas rapidly regained his birth weight and
has hovered around the 100th percentile for his height and weight ever
since. The nurses at my pediatrician's office tease me that I must have
had "cream" in my breasts.
Returning to work when Nicholas
was four months old posed the only real challenge in my experience of
breastfeeding. I enrolled Nicholas in a day care center located within
walking distance of my office and established a routine of nursing him
during my lunch hour and pumping two to three times a day in between
appointments. I was concerned about him initially going "on strike,"
because his daily milk intake seemed to decrease dramatically when he
had to regularly drink out of bottles. Soon, however, my husband and
I became convinced that our cosleeping arrangement enabled Nicholas
to maximize his intake of human milk at night and to meet his nutritional
needs.
Pumping made my workday more
hectic, and I had ongoing difficulty getting the day care workers to
coordinate Nicholas' bottle feedings so as not to interfere with our
nursing schedule. The strange thing was that it seemed as if no one
else at his day care center was nursing. It felt confusing at times
and I probably would have lost sight of why I was going to such great
efforts to maintain my son's diet of 100 percent human milk if it were
not for the support and validation I received from the Leaders and members
of my La Leche League Group. It has now been 10 months since Nicholas
was born and our nursing relationship is still going strong. He still
gets about 85 to 90 percent of his nourishment from human milk, and
I cannot yet imagine either one of us being ready to wean.
Much to my surprise, despite
Nicholas' frequent feedings and my decreased hours of sleep, I have
not found myself feeling overburdened. If anything, I believe I have
learned how to truly relax. I have always been the "Type A"
personality who feels a compulsive need to be ultra productive with
my time. Nursing Nicholas enabled me to slow down and just fully experience
what is occurring in the moment.
Minutes before completing
this essay, I finished nursing Nicholas. He was staring up at me with
what are now his green-colored eyes, the color of my own. He gazed lovingly
at me as he suckled and played with a strand of my hair. As I watched
this miraculous little being pressed up against my chest, I felt his
warmth in my arms, savored his wonderful smell, and took in the pureness
of his beauty. I was able to immerse myself in this experience and feel
serenity and intense joy.
Not only has breastfeeding
helped me to bond with this beautiful little boy in a way that I will
always cherish, but it has also helped me to grow. I feel that through
this bond with my baby I have become a better person, less self-focused,
more empathic, and more able to recognize and experience the meaningful
and precious moments in life.
Last updated Tuesday, September 12, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:17 UTC 2007.
