Parenting is about nurturing and protecting your children. You began nurturing and protecting your baby moments after it was born when it latched on to your breast and began drinking your colostrum. When you breastfeed your child you give it the best possible start in life. During the time you spend breastfeeding your child, you'll probably feel a little anxious about whether it is greeting enough milk, or is getting enough nutrients from your milk. Worrying about your child's diet is something that will never go away. Even when your children eventually grow up and leave home, you'll be worrying about what they're eating!
The physical benefits that you give to your child when you breastfeed are well known and documented. But what isn't always discussed are the emotional feelings associated with breastfeeding. Seeing their baby grow and flourish and knowing that it is their body that is responsible for its physical development, generates a sense of pride and achievement for many women. Indeed, breastfeeding is a continuation of the physical nourishment you provided through out your pregnancy.
Some mothers do experience problems when they first try to breastfeed their baby. However, this is usually overcome when they have mastered latching on their baby. In fact, once they are nursing they are often surprised by how easy it is. Breastfeeding a child, especially at night, is a lot less stressful than bottle feeding. Breastfeeding can also be incredible relaxing for both mother and child. A baby will usually fall asleep after feeding, satiated and content, as will many mothers.
Breastfeeding isn't just about food; it's about comfort, for both mother and child. Nursing your child for comfort can be a wonderful, peaceful time for you both. No other activity an adult can do with a child is as peaceful. Breastfeeding will fill you will many positive, life long feelings towards your baby and life in general. As you breastfeed, you and your child will look into each others eyes and sometimes it will be as though you are both acknowledging the special bond and emotional feeling that exist between the two of you.
Once more you find your balance. Emotions are not to be thought about. They are to be felt. Do not rush to your head to think about how you feel until you have felt. Do not become angry from the thought until the thought is complete. To truly feel, you must understand your being. To be clear in thought, you must be able to feel. Thought without feeling only clouds the vision. Feeling, without thought, is an empty feeling. They too are partners on the journey that you have chosen in this life. They are not to stop you or distract you, but to enhance you for fulfillment of your being.
Emotional intelligence has been a hot topic recently. It's taken scientists almost a century to figure out that intelligence might have an equally important partner called emotion. In actuality, most intelligence tests measure the language and reasoning functions of the dominant hemisphere in the brain. The other hemisphere regulates emotion. In actuality, each hemisphere handles what it does best with no competition from the other side. The two are joined by a structure called the corpus callosum that allows both sides to combine their efforts into a result that far exceeds what either would be alone.
How come my head and my heart, that is my emotions and my intellect, so often seem to be at odds with each other? In actuality, what you are experiencing is how each side of your brain has a different way of being. The dominant side (for most of us, this is our left brain), loves to analyze everything. It breaks things down into little parts. Then it argues with itself about the logic involved that allowed it to take it apart in the first place. It loves the "step-by-step approach. In contrast, the minor side (usually the right hemisphere of the brain), sees the whole picture rather than the little parts. It has virtually no language. Thus, the world for the minor hemisphere is rich in the experiences of sounds, images, smells, skin sensations, and taste. The dominant side gives us the word "vanilla." The minor side gives us the flavor of vanilla, the pleasantness, the warmth or cold of it, the feelings or memories it may invoke, a whole richness that far exceeds a few letters on a page or a few sounds turned into a mere word.
Challenge: The next time you drive your car at night, turn off the radio. Now, concentrate on driving without reading any signs. Clear your head of any verbal chatter. You are now experiencing your minor or right hemisphere's way of being. Next, focus your attention on where you are going. Read the signs along the way. Turn the radio on and concentrate on what is being said. You are now experiencing your dominant or left hemisphere's way of being. Yet, while you were focusing on the left, wasn't the right hemisphere still guiding your car safely down the road? Don't you need both to safely arrive at your destination?
Both Robin Obrien & Bernice Ross are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robin Obrien has sinced written about articles on various topics from Modelling, Prom Dress and Kids and Teens. Robin O'Brien is founder of .com, which is dedicated to promoting the. Robin Obrien's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Bernice Ross has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, self improvement and motivation. Bernice L. Ross, Ph.D., is a Nationally Syndicated Real Estate Columnist, Master Certified Coach and CEO of