Mothering at the Breast : What It has Taught Me

Mothering at the breast has helped shape me into the mother that I am.  There have been many days over the years when I have felt overwhelmed and tired from caring for a baby.  If I had not been breastfeeding, it would have very easy for me to leave the baby with my husband for long periods of time or to overuse a swing or other baby equipment to get away from needing to hold my baby.  Now that I have several children, the busyness of life sometimes takes over.    If I wasn't breastfeeding the youngest, she might not get enough attention.  The special breastfeeding bond I have had with each of my children is something I will always cherish.

Specifically, what has breastfeeding taught me?  It has taught me to be gentle.  It is difficult to stay angry while nursing a baby due to her sweet little smile and those wonderful breastfeeding hormones.  It has taught me how to respond more quickly to my children, because a hungry or upset baby needs to nurse as soon as possible.  It has taught me about what "Theology of the Body" really means.  Breastfeeding mothers give their bodies as gifts of love to their children many times per day and night.  It has taught me to relax and to sit down occasionally even when there is work to be done.  Hormones in play here once again!  It has taught me the value of my time as a mother.  Motherhood is a worthy, time intensive career that requires many hours of labor each day.  Most of all, the beauty of breastfeeding has taught me that what I do as a mother matters to my Savior and is my ministry to my family.  He created me to birth and nurse babies, so it must be the perfect design!