Today’s post speaks directly to a particular group: women who have breastfed a baby. For those of you men or women who have never had the experience, maybe you’re curious about what we do while the little guy is eating.
 Slow eaters, and oh, so hungry
 Before your first baby was born, ladies, you may have thought you were busy, thought you never had enough time for everything you wanted to do. Still, you were committed to the idea of nursing your child. Somehow, you’d find the time. But did anyone tell you ahead of time how hungry that baby would be, how in the beginning he’d expect to eat every two or three hours? And I do mean eat, not just grab a snack. Did you imagine that each of his meals would last 20 to 30 minutes on the first breast, 10 minutes on the other, sometimes longer?
Count that up. That’s about four hours … every single day. And I know some women who nursed for an hour each time, and if the baby didn’t fall asleep, he wanted to eat again in forty-five minutes. It takes so long that some women simply give up.
Well, sit back, smile and enjoy it. Now you can read all those books you have stacked up on your nightstand or waiting on your amazon.com wish list. You can read and no one will complain. After all, your baby has to eat, doesn’t he?
The books I read
 Thinking back to when I was a nursing mom, I remember reading Newsweek and a few non-fiction books like Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb. Mostly, though, I read fiction and autobiography, paperback books that I could easily hold in one hand while I cradled my daughter in the other arm.
My favorite author at the time was Han Suyin. I still have two of her novels: The Mountain Is 
Young and Destination Chungking as well as the first of her autobiographical books, The Crippled Tree. When we moved overseas, I thinned out my library. For some reason, I must have given away the next two books in her autobiography:Â Birdless Summer and A Mortal Flower.
Birdless Summer was particularly interesting to me because it covered the period from 1938 (my husband’s birth year) to 1949 (the year his family fled from China to Taiwan).
Years later I wrote a book about that same time, the period in China’s history that I read about while I was nursing my baby. I guess you could say that all that reading turned out to be more than just pleasant self-indulgence.
My friend and fellow blogger, Janet Williams, has written a good account of Han Suyin from the viewpoint of a woman born in Malaysia. If you remember the song, “Love is a many splendored thing,” you’ll enjoy the video she shares.
What about you?
 I shouldn’t assume that all women read when they nurse their babies. There are other possibilities. They might watch TV, check their email, send a text, post something on Facebook, daydream …. Or maybe they simply sit there, rocking and admiring the amazing little being that grew inside them for nine months.
So I wonder, if you nursed, what did you do while your baby was eating? And if you read, what did you read? Do you remember?
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Next week’s post: December 7,1941
I heard on NPR the other morning how so many more families are breast feeding their babies now, and how its creating a supply and demand for those getting breast milk from banks and from online communities. Pretty interesting! So far I’ve read the Dragon Tattoo series and am on the 3rd Game of Thrones book, and then there’s been an assortment of baby and parenting books to boot. But sometimes, I just enjoy the moment – admiring my beautiful baby – knowing he’s going to grow up faster than I can imagine.
So true! Enjoy your sweet, cheerful baby. So, now people can’t get enough breast milk. Forty years ago we all were just starting to recognize the value of breastfeeding. Before that, it was considered modern and smart to use formula.
A most excellent post – great topic! I remember listening to music and simply being with my son. But I love reading – mostly non-fiction at the moment. Right now, I am in the middle of –
“Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America’s First Imperial Adventure” by Julia Flynn Siler
Music is good for many occasions. This afternoon I’ve been decorating my tree with my Christmas albums on shuffle, happily moving from Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
I nursed my three kids for a total of 7+ years. One book I remember reading is Aimee Liu’s epic novel, “Cloud Mountain”, when I was nursing my firstborn. I also read at that time a dissertation by a Hong Kong police officer who was studying for a PhD in Public Administration. I love Han Suyin and will make a point to read more of her books. Thanks!
Susan, your children had a good, healthy start in life from all those years of nursing.
I just looked up “Cloud Mountain.” It sounds like a good book.
I was not a successful baby-nurser until our fourth child (1973) was born (when I stopped paying attention to what doctors were telling me and started listening to successful nursing mothers), so when I nursed him and his two future brothers-to-come, I mostly kept track of what the other children were doing. I think I may have looked at a magazine occasionally or read the newspaper, but not books. Sometimes one of his siblings would sit next to me while I nursed him.
An older friend of mine (also with several children) told me that when she nursed the baby, she had the other children sit, one on each side of her, and a couple more could sit on the top of the sofa, leaning against the wall. The kids took turns choosing books, and she read to the entire group while she nursed. “Why didn’t I think of that?!” I wondered.
Barb, your friend was a super multi-tasker. Nursing gets more complicated with more children.
Traditional women here sings lullaby and folksong when they nurse their babies.
Sometimes they chit chat with their neighbors or family members, because when the babies are sleeping, they’ll be doing many other things (too busy to talk!). 😀
In the morning and night, they boil sweet leaves (Sauropus androgynus) and drink the water to increase the milk production. They also drink herbal tonic to increase its quality.
This is great, Hari. Everything you describe paints a lovely picture in my mind: the mother singing a folksong or chit-chatting with her neighbors as she nurses her baby–and then boiling sweet leaves to increase her milk production. Perfect!
l nursed my child for several years — yes, years. Giving thought to what I did during those times, especially in the beginning, I remember giving much time to the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding because it wasn’t that easy for me in the beginning. But, I was committed to her getting the best start possible, so I didn’t quit. I still remember her eyes looking up at me, her little hands taking charge of her food and once in a while, gently patting my face. What did I do? That will require a blog of my own. Thanks for sharing, Nicki!
You definitely did give your beautiful daughter a good start. Just look at her now!