Grandma said it! - Page 2

[nevaehsmommy]

My great grandmother had 14 kids, she nursed all but one. Aunt Olivia ended up getting horse milk. Great Grandma had her first child when she was 14 and quickly realized that while nursing she did not get pregnant. This was during the late 30's and birth control was not discussed nor was famly planning or even basic reproductive health matters.

My grandma was unable to nurse her 3 children due to there preemie status. She was unable to pump enough milk and the hospital staff was not supportive. ( she is my biggest supporter though)

My mom nursed me for 8 months ( paternal grandfather told her I was starving and to give me similac. Since I was kinda small she went ahead, against doctors advice) She nursed my sister for 13 months, and my brother for 6 months before she had to go to full time Univeristy and could not afford a pump but WIC would pay for formula. Arghhh

Now to me I have had problems since the begening. C-section, slow to gain,poor latch, unsupportive doc. Grandma has been there the whole time. Now when family ask when I am going to wean she answers "well how many college kids do you know still at MOMMAS breast?" She then goes on to quote WHO reccomendations. DD is 20 months old and I see no end in sight to our nursing days

[MyBoysBlue]

Originally Posted by NotBroken

I wonder what the long term effects are on the people who were fed condensed milk?

When I was born in 77 my mom was only 18. The nurses must of still had the prejudice that only poor breastfed. When my mom asked about nursing they told her she didn't want to do that and my Grandmother never did so that was it. I was fed carnation condensed milk. I was sick and in and out of the hospital every month until I was over 2, with flu and fever. I haven't suffered from any allergies or obesity problems. Or any other lasting problems.

My Mom did go on to feed my next youngest sister formula and the next sister nursed for 6 months and my little brother nursed for 9 months.

[Onemagicmummy]

i am not sure about my dads older sibs(he is 5th of 7) but i think him and his younger 2 sibs were not BF as grandma had parkinsons from when she was 30ish. im gonna check this out with dad tomorrow.
i dunno about my mum bu ti know she BF me and my halfbro n sis for 3 month but then she lost her milk and on to FF we went.
i BF DS1 for 12 weeks DD1 for 10 DS2 for 14 months and DD is 4 months and we are still a going.

Kiz

[LydiaJW]

I have similar grandmother's experiences. My grandma on my dad's side didn't nurse any of her 6 babies...and wondered why they were so close together in age, etc. She had babies 9 months apart, and 4 kids in 18 months! (1 set of twins) WOWZA! My Grandmother on my mother's side died when my mom was 8, but even at a young age she saw how much her mother loved breastfeeding her younger brother. She nursed him til he was 3. My mom nursed us all for at LEAST 2.5 years, sometimes longer. There were 7 of us :-)

[didkisa]

My paternal grandmother drives me nuts with her off comments to no one in particular whenever she sees me nursing DD: "Oh, she's hungry again?!?" : "It was easier back in my day...you just stuck a bottle in the baby's mouth and went back to bed!" "Oh, she's crying again!! That's a bad baby!" (DD was 2 mos old at the time!) This woman is the anti-nurturer, in case you couldn't tell. If she had lived her youth in today's world she probably wouldn't have had kids. But having kids was just what you did back then (and in my dad's day as well...he has told me himself that he wouldn't have had kids if it wasn't just "expected" and "what you did"). Gee, thanks dad!

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by didkisa

My paternal grandmother drives me nuts with her off comments to no one in particular whenever she sees me nursing DD: "Oh, she's hungry again?!?" : "It was easier back in my day...you just stuck a bottle in the baby's mouth and went back to bed!" "Oh, she's crying again!! That's a bad baby!" (DD was 2 mos old at the time!) This woman is the anti-nurturer, in case you couldn't tell.

"If you don't like babies, why on earth are you trying to give me advice about babies?"

I do love all the positive grandma stories people have been sharing. It's interesting to see the range from those who fought the system themselves to those who've come around over time.