Happy Mother’s Day, mamas!
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. – By Abraham Lincoln
I love this quote by Abe. Great men appreciate their mothers. I guess, everyone does or should. I will be thinking of my late mother today and loving my little ones. I hope your day is sweet.
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I just made a new poster for Mother’s Day coming up, not that we should only celebrate our motherhood one day a year.
“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill
I know that I am no where near perfect as a mother, or a person for that matter, but I am thankful and proud of myself for being able to breastfeed. It takes dedication to breastfeed – from one day to 5 years. I have been nursing for three and a half years straight and there still isn’t an end in sight. I also support mothers who chose not to or cannot breastfeed, of course. They have their own things they are proud of. What I am proud of, besides nursing? I also feel good about my parenting, my exhausting but rewarding role as a stay-at-home mother of two, when I get a giggle out of my children, see them grin from ear to ear, or hear their sweet voices saying they love me, copying my encouraging phrases, and being nice to each other. I also beam when they master something new or climb something really high.
Sure, I have many not-so-wonderful moments but I try to savor the irreplaceable ones. They remind me when I am at my worst that I am still doing my best, day in and day out, and that my children are the most wonderful things that have ever happened to me. Thanks to my dear husband, of course.
What are you proud of?
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A friend sent me this photo of a mother koala hugging her baby today, remembering that my childhood nickname from my father was Paala Koala, and I just about fell over with the cuteness.
Image source: Imgur
Now maybe the baby koala is getting hugged a little tighter than needed but heck, I do that all the time. I love squeezing my babies and giving them kisses all day.
Here we are yesterday at the Emeryville Marina.
I embrace the days where I feel like a wonderful, loving mother because I know not every day feels as sweet. Like today, I am pulling my hair out because my older toddler decided to skip her nap and be crazy. But at least no one has peed on the carpet. Well, I guess someone did poop explode on me and the rug this morning. How soon I forgot! Anyway, my children will only be little babies for a short time so I give them love every time I remember.
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I am in one of those places mentally today where I feel so happy, so thankful to be a mother. I know that my children are bright, considerate, and loving little beings, and I am proud of them. Today, I am proud of my mothering skills. It isn’t every day that I feel that way. But today, I will take it. I hope I am teaching them how love their lives and how to mother their own children one day.
My day started off like every other. My husband tackled the toddler so the baby and I could sleep in until 8. Then, spur of the moment, we drove to the city and decided to run around at the Palace of Fine Arts. (I usually don’t like leaving the house until after noon.) My children fed the birds and held hands, while I pointed out things and took photos of them. I felt like we were all beaming with happiness and there wasn’t a meltdown or rain to muddy our moods.
It doesn’t hurt that an infant development specialist came by my house this afternoon for my free visit (that I won at the LLL sponsored Big Latch On in San Francisco raffle earlier in the month) and told me that my girls are developing wonderfully and I seem to be doing a great job. Isn’t that nice to hear from strangers instead of something negative? Even if they only get a small snapshot of your life, it is nice to hear positive reflections.
I found this photo on facebook today, shared by HAPPYFAMILY with the quote, “Happiness is……mothering!” It totally fits. I feel like every part of my motherhood puzzle, my life with my two children and my husband, fits just right. Sure, not everything is perfect. I wish my mother was still alive to help me through the tough times and to watch my children grow. I wish my father was an active part of my life instead of being in a nursing home at the age of 60 due a lifetime of alcohol abuse. I wish I had my brothers and sister nearby instead of half way across the country. But since I can’t change any of that, I will just have to appreciate my sweet toddler snuggling on the couch with me, giving me little kisses on my cheek, hugs, and head bonks, and saying she loves me.
“Mama, be happy,” she tells me. “I am happy,” I reply.
I am. I am a lucky mama.
How are you? How do you feel today?
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One of my mothering instincts was called into question this morning and in my google-search induced fury to defend myself (instead of saying this), I found out some interesting information on saliva.
I searched for “does saliva cause eye infections” and “is licking your baby’s eye harmful” and the like. I still have not found someone who answered my exact question but I found out that saliva actually has some healing properties.
Have you ever licked your own wound? I remember doing this as a kid but didn’t know why I did it. I guess it is a natural, instinctive response.
From Wikipedia:
Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to an injury. Dogs, cats, rodents and primates all lick wounds.[1] The enzyme lysozyme is found in many tissues and is known to attack the cell walls of many gram-positive bacteria, aiding in defense against infection. Tears are also beneficial to wounds due to the lysozyme enzyme.
Oral mucosa heals faster than skin,[2] suggesting that saliva may have properties that aid wound healing. Saliva contains many compounds that are antibacterial or promote healing.
And another interesting post on saliva curing pink-eye.
Pink eye (scientifically identified as conjunctivitis) can be cured rather easily. This has been tested a number of times in my life with 100% success. I do not proclaim that I discovered this on my own. A Polish grandmother identified this cure when I was 7 years old. She spit in the eye of my brother and my family got real mad. He was only 5 years old. But his pink-eye was cured by the end of that day. And the lady across the street apologized profusely but identified saliva as a natural cure for pink-eye (conjunctivitis). And since then, I have swished water around in my mouth when a doctor identified me as having pink-eye. The doctor stated that there is no known cure for pink-eye (conjunctivitis) other than an anti-biotic placed in the eye and that it takes a week for the anti-biotic to work. However, I have found that my own saliva kills pink-eye (conjunctivitis) within a day and it only needs to be done once.So the next time you visit your doctor, even the eye doctors, ask them if they know of a natural cure for pink-eye (conjunctivitis). They will in all likelyhood tell you that the ONLY cure is an antibiotic. More on Yahoo.
More on using saliva (and breastmilk!) to soothe pink-eye:
Washing the eyes with a warm Echinacea root decoction is an excellent, safe, and effective alternative to the conventional ointment. This eyewash can also be diluted with mother’s milk, if any is available. Mother’s milk is abundant in natural substances called lysosomes, which can also be found in saliva and tears. These convey remarkable protective antiseptic and infection fighting qualities, and it is fine for this new milk to go into tender new eyes. These same options can also be used if an eye infection does develop. More at Moondragon.
Have you heard about the connection between a baby’s saliva and a mother’s breast milk? How the infant’s saliva on the areola, the Montgomery glands specifically, creates custom tailored immunities?
Immunity is passed from the mother through her breast-milk which contains antibodies against specific antigens present in the immediate environment. Demonstrating the unique bond a lactating mother has with her baby, a baby’s saliva actually communicates with the mother and literally affects the composition of the milk based on the baby’s unique needs! - Dr. Alex Rinehart
It must be a two way street, right? My baby’s saliva is helpful to me and mine is to her. My saliva and my baby’s saliva are very similar at the stage as well. We spend so much time together, sharing food, being in constant contact. She sticks her fingers in my mouth any time she sees an opportunity. Maybe she wants to be a dentist. Who knows. And I eat her leftovers and the leftovers of my toddler’s food as well. Would it be strange if my toddler used a little of her own spit to wipe herself or her eye or if she licked an ouchie? Or if she licked her sister? What if I did it? No, I don’t think so.
Of course I realize that if I have a cold or some other mouth infection, I should avoid sharing those germs. I did some research when my first child was born about the proper way to clean a newborn and learned that eyes can be sensitive, that you’re supposed to clean each eye with a separate cotton ball or towel when they are brand new. But since she is older and I’m drawing on the parenting practices that my own parents used, it just seems like the normal thing to do.
What to you think? Is it normal or gross to lick your baby?
More information about eyes & silva:
Related Natural Parenting Posts:
Listen to why nursing in public is important and the why Facebook is wrong for promoting a bottlefeeding culture by deleting breastfeeding photos, and for suspending and even deleting accounts because of them.
Ireland Facebook Nurse-in
Mothers protest over Facebook rules
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This post on She Knows was so good, I just had to share it. The whole thing. Be sure to visit their page, Why you should breastfeed your toddler, and give Monica Beyer some love because it isn’t my article.
Why do I love it? Because even though I *know* the benefits of extended nursing, or nursing over a year, I don’t always (OK, never) know how to explain them to people who ask me why I’m still nursing a kid that is over a year old, is running around like crazy spouting full sentences, and has a full set of chompers. I’ve been asked, “Don’t the nutritional benefits of breast milk significantly decrease after a year?” Nope. Not even close. And there are so many other awesome benefits, why stop at some arbitrary point in time? But what do I say? Who knows. Something stupid always pops out of my mouth.
If you need some tips like I do, read this.
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The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until at least two years of age — and beyond that if desired. However, mothers in the U.S. don’t often breastfeed past one year. Nursing, while becoming more of a cultural norm for mothers of infants, still suffers from social stigma, particularly the topic of nursing in public and breastfeeding beyond 12 months of age. The good news is that nursing your toddler is healthy, normal and recommended. Here’s why.
Your breast milk, which has been a valuable source of nutrition for your little one from the day she was born, continues to help provide nourishment for as long as you nurse her. As your baby grows older, the nutritional content of your milk changes to suit her needs.
Even better, you will continue to produce antibodies — valuable disease-fighting bonuses — the entire time you breastfeed your child. This can make the duration of your child’s illness, if she were to get sick, shorter.
Jolene, mother of three, nursed her second child for 16 months and is currently breastfeeding a newborn. “She was never very sick,” she explained. “I’d get a nasty cold and she would get a sniffle. I’m tempted to mix expressed breast milk into her milk to give her more antibodies.”
Adverse health effects have been documented in developing countries when children are weaned before three years of age. In Guinea-Bissau, for example, children of this age group who no longer breastfed had a mortality rate 3 1/2 times higher than their nursing peers. While the consequences are not as dire in the industrialized world, those statistics are startling enough to consider how breastfeeding beyond one year continues to have its merits.
Breastfeeding isn’t solely about nutrition, either. Babies learn to love nursing for the warmth and closeness it provides. The breast becomes their home and a physical connection to their mother. As your baby grows, he may reach out to you to nurse after a tumble or a scare. Continuing to nurse beyond one year can also help alleviate stress in new situations or when your little one needs some extra comfort or reassurance.
If you get the stink eye for nursing your 1-, 2- or 3-year-old, you may feel flustered, defensive or embarrassed. You may choose to nurse “in the closet” because of how you picture your family, friends or the public reacting.
Bolster yourself in advance with a few things to say, such as:
You can also smile and say, “This is what works best for my family.” Simply knowing the peace it instills in a child can be reason enough. Lisa, mother of a 23-month-old girl, said, “All I know is Madison still enjoys it and it makes her happy and comforts her.”
Breastfeeding help: Getting baby to latch on
How to breastfeed in public
Why moms choose to breastfeed
