Reznet

My Decision to Breastfeed

By Christie Cooke

I breastfed both my children.

I almost cringe at my decision to write about the topic of breastfeeding but I'd like to share some of my best experiences as a mother with others.

I think breastfeeding important, first of all.

Mainly, it has been the healthiest and most precious way to express my love for my children, especially at the beginnings of their lives, when they were so new and so vulnerable.

Emma was born 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Edward was much smaller at 6 pounds 7 ounces. Breastfeeding proved beneficial just as all the literature I read about breastfeeding had suggested. Emma's growth was normal and steady, but Edward's growth showed that breastfeeding worked miracles!

At one of my W.I.C. (Women, Infants, Children) appointments, the nurses weighed my son and his weight had doubled since birth! They said Edward's growth had been one of their best breastfeeding success stories to date! The nurses were so amazed with his growth over one month's time and applauded my decisions to breastfeed.

I can't tell you how proud I was of myself!

The topic of breastfeeding is a timely subject for me these days. I stopped breastfeeding my son almost one month ago because I work full-time and my body could not keep up with Edward's feedings anymore.

Edward was breastfed just minutes after his arrival into this world. Now he drinks about 30 ounces of infant formula everyday.

Daily I mourn the fact that I do not breastfeed my son. Because not only do I spend almost $30 dollars a week on infant formula, mainly, I just miss that special bond Edward and I created since his birth.

Breastfeeding was very special and important to me.

And as an Indian parent, naturally, I fear the words "diabetes" and "obesity."

The latest research suggests that breastfed babies may less likely to be become obese and obesity is part of the reason that Indian people suffer from Type 2 diabetes.

My decision to breastfeed came from my two older sisters' decisions to breastfeed their children. My mother and my aunts breastfed their children because, quite simply, it was practical and less expensive for Indian mothers living on the reservation. Those have been the deciding factors in my decision to breastfeed and it will hopefully be a tradition that will carry on with my daughter in her journey through motherhood and life.

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Read Christie Cooke's previous Native Moms blog, "Edward's Eyes"

Christie Cooke, Navajo, has a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2007 American Indian Journalism Institute.

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