Nutrition 101

I am constantly in awe of my body.


As I now struggle to find enough to fill my own stomach I am even more impressed by my body's ability and wisdom to give Samuel exactly what he needs to survive and flourish.


Breast milk is amazing...  When I was refreshing my memory on milk storage I got to reading about it's traits.  It is antimicrobial.  Milk that has been in the fridge for eight days often has LESS bacteria than when it was first pumped.  Milk has circadian variations, which probably help babies to sleep longer at night.  Each mother's milk has antibodies specific to the mother and baby.  Also, it is very low in iron, since iron is an essential for bacterial infection...  When the baby's internal supply starts to diminish around 6 months the baby is ready for food!  On top of what it does inside a baby's body it is supremely helpful on the outside too!  It can be used to treat conjunctivitis (I've already used it on Sammy!), dermatitis, and insect bites and stings.  Last week it helped clear up his face after he developed a rash when lotion with milk was put on his skin.


At Sam's two-week check-up I mentioned dairy to his doctor.  Something in my body told me it was a problem.  After she assured me that it probably wasn't a problem: it's very rare, I went back to my hyper-dairy diet...  Within a few days it was clear something was really hurting Sam's tummy.  After less than a week of dairy-free living Sam went from all night grunting, squirming, and screaming to six hours of peaceful, beautiful sleep!  So, while breast milk IS amazing, there are some things your body just can't keep out of it for the sake of your baby, bovine proteins being on that list!


While I am desperate for a bite of yogurt and am daily tormented by the cheese Ben eats I will keep going.  I will do what I have to do to make clean and perfect milk for Sam, because on top of the amazing connection we are fostering and my deep love of single-handedly sustaining his life, breast milk is amazing enough for me to want to produce it just as long as is humanly possible.  I will figure out how to curb the nagging hunger and find things that make my tongue feel less deprived so that I can participate in one of God's most amazing, most perfect plans!