It’s cold and flu season, and my nursing toddler caught whatever strain of it that is currently going around. It started off as a cold: runny nose, watery eyes, croaky, hoarse cry (sign of a sore throat), cough and practically no interest in solid foods.
Then Friday night she woke up at 2:00 am, vomited all over me at 3:30 am, and then screamed and croaked hysterically until well after sunrise. Needless to say we were both exhausted all day Saturday! Because of the screaming and sudden listlessness (regardless of her lack of sleep the night before) we took her to the doctor who diagnosed her first ear infection.
I’m the type of mom who likes to try out alternatives to western medicine before filling a prescription; however, I find that when my children are sick the seeming expertise of the doctor sometimes challenges my confidence. It did this time. Even though I know that grapefruit seed extract combined with tea tree oil has done wonders for my own ear infections in the past and colloidal silver has a good reputation for killing bacteria just as well as antibiotics, I went with the tried and true penicillin, telling myself that she’ll get better that much faster with the addition of our breastfeeding.
One good thing I have found about breastfeeding a sick baby or toddler is that I don’t  get quite as worried about their food and fluid intake because breastfeeding as all they usually want to do, and I know it is full of all the goodness they need. Even if they are vomiting, breastmilk nutrients are absorbed more quickly than other fluids, thus staving off dehydration and keeping their immunity up.
Sometimes doctors may still prescribe a rehydration drink if the child is vomiting a lot or has a persistent fever and disinterest in eating or drinking. Dehydration in little ones is a real concern. However, I have never known a child, in my limited circle of friends, who has liked them and I have found that if the child will breastfeed, then that’s all she really needs.
Breastmillk changes when a baby is sick. Due to the constant closeness between mom and child, mom’s more mature immune system will tailor make the specific antibodies to the illness her child has, thus helping her child fight off the germs and generally decreasing the illness’s length. You can read more about this here. La Leche League further expains that one of the beauties of human milk is that when mom gets sick her child is exposed to the illness before she even knows she’s sick, and while her body is building antibodies to fight the illness her baby is receiving those same antibodies in her breastmilk to help her fight off the same illness. So moms should always continue to breastfeed when they are sick too. I guess this is why it appears that my toddler doesn’t usually catch my colds, and why I always seem to get sick at the end of  everyone else’s.Â
Above all, the extra closeness and comfort that a child receives at her mother’s breast may be the most important benefit towards getting well. We all need a little extra love and snuggles when we’re sick don’t we? I just hope my daughter feels better soon.
Related posts:
- Have You Ever Wanted To Nurse Someone Else’s Baby?
- Breastfeeding An Adopted Baby: One Mom’s Story
- How New Dads Can Bond With Their Breastfeeding Baby
- Behavioural Problems? Yes, My Breastfed Baby.
- Monday Musings: Do You Nurse Your Baby To Sleep?
Tags: breast milk
