As you may know, if you've been following our adventure, being able to do anything without Charlie right there has been somewhat impossible. Today, in the shower, I discovered something VERY INTERESTING....
SOMEONE HAS BEEN BREASTFEEDING MY BABY!
Dun-dun-dahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
No wonder she's so healthy and huge!
Here's how I found out.
First shower attempt (with Pack and Play in the bathroom doorway): BIG FAILURE.
Second shower attempt (with highchair in the bathroom with me): BIG FAILURE.
Third shower attempt (with Charlie free and crawling around bathroom): SUCCESS. Somewhat. She crawled right in the shower with me, diaper and onesie and all. So I undressed her and took a shower with her. She's such a slippery, soapy baby! Anyway, back to the story...
As soon as she saw my boobs, her eyes got HUGE and she looked STUNNED. She was mesmerized by them. She was not looking anywhere else on my body but at my boobs. She reached out with BOTH HANDS and CHOMPED down on one of them! With her teeth! OUCH!
Since she was dropped off at the orphanage at 15 days, I believe this means someone was breastfeeding her at the orphanage. There's no way she would remember her first 15 days with her birth mother to that extent. So there are wet nurses at the orphanage, and nobody told us PAPs. It's fine with me (as long as they are healthy and don't have Hepatitis or something else that can be transmitted through breast milk), and even a really great gift for Charlie really. If she didn't have teeth already, I might even try and continue, but after that bite there is NO WAY.
On another note, check out these blackberries from my garden! They are HUGE! I got three store blackberries with which to compare them. The photos really don't do them justice. They are the size of half my finger! They will make fabulous blackberry jam :-)
So what do you all think about the breastfeeding? Was your child breastfed at their orphange? Did you know about it? There are so many things I'll never know about Charlie's first 10 months..... that's kind of sad really.
SOMEONE HAS BEEN BREASTFEEDING MY BABY!
Dun-dun-dahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
No wonder she's so healthy and huge!
Here's how I found out.
First shower attempt (with Pack and Play in the bathroom doorway): BIG FAILURE.
Second shower attempt (with highchair in the bathroom with me): BIG FAILURE.
Third shower attempt (with Charlie free and crawling around bathroom): SUCCESS. Somewhat. She crawled right in the shower with me, diaper and onesie and all. So I undressed her and took a shower with her. She's such a slippery, soapy baby! Anyway, back to the story...
As soon as she saw my boobs, her eyes got HUGE and she looked STUNNED. She was mesmerized by them. She was not looking anywhere else on my body but at my boobs. She reached out with BOTH HANDS and CHOMPED down on one of them! With her teeth! OUCH!
Since she was dropped off at the orphanage at 15 days, I believe this means someone was breastfeeding her at the orphanage. There's no way she would remember her first 15 days with her birth mother to that extent. So there are wet nurses at the orphanage, and nobody told us PAPs. It's fine with me (as long as they are healthy and don't have Hepatitis or something else that can be transmitted through breast milk), and even a really great gift for Charlie really. If she didn't have teeth already, I might even try and continue, but after that bite there is NO WAY.
On another note, check out these blackberries from my garden! They are HUGE! I got three store blackberries with which to compare them. The photos really don't do them justice. They are the size of half my finger! They will make fabulous blackberry jam :-)
So what do you all think about the breastfeeding? Was your child breastfed at their orphange? Did you know about it? There are so many things I'll never know about Charlie's first 10 months..... that's kind of sad really.
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9 comments:
You can still breastfeed after they have teeth. You just tell them "NO!" once and they adjust. But this all is very interesting. So cute that she followed you into the shower!
Danicuz
My son was an abandoment case. We met with the women who found him and she told us that she nursed him for the whole time she had him. When we first met him he would "root" for food on my chest but there was nothing there for him. A huge bonus to his breastfeeding: he took a bottle like a champ. His suck reflex was amazing.
It's very common (culturally) to nurse another woman's baby. Since it's safe & cheaper than mixing formula with the water.
The amazing things you are learning about Charlie!!! Heeheehee!
Is it just me or was the blackberry thing after the nipple thing kind of suggestive? I thought it was kind of funny :) danicuz
Charlie might not have been breast feed as this is a natural instinct and many adopted children do this. My friend adopted two children from Canada who were never breast feed and the youngest would attempt to breast feed to sooth himself. She was told by the attachment therapist that this was normal and if comfortable to let him (although nothing comes). It lasted a short while and then stopped.
I think there is a tendancy for them to grab at things "hanging" (although I'm sure yours are quite firm and don't hang)and if you were a man she might have grabbed something else and chomped. Ewww, I know. Anyway, this reminds me of another funny Olivia saying. One night when she was about three I leaned over her to kiss her goodnight while I was wearing a loose fitting nightgown. She saw down my gown to my hanging breast (no bones about it, mine hang) and said, "Mommy, your elbows are falling off."
Kik..... Hi.LA.RIOUS.
Hope your nipple survived! Great story. And if she did breastfeed, why wouldn't they say so?
Danicuz-- After that post, when I saw the blackberries I thought nipples. Our Mika has a twisty sense of humor :)
Kiki--- Gave me a chuckle!
How cute! I am totally pro-breastfeeding! I imagine it would be a very bonding experience!
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