Traveling Currents

Breastfeeding has been a funny and satisfying experience from day one. There was never any doubt that I would breastfeed when Sebastian was born. I only learned later that many women in Taiwan do not get enough encouragement and support from their extended family to help them persist with breastfeeding. I was lucky enough to have been under the care of a breastfeeding-friendly hospital during the postpartum one-month confinement (坐月子). My mother also helped too. But once I returned home, breastfeeding still takes ongoing effort.

So what kind of a breastfeeder is Sebastian? His latch won the praises of many nurses, but he is more like a marathon runner than a sprinter. He likes to feed in private by putting up his palm as if saying "no disturbance please." Yet once in that cozy space, he falls asleep easily. I would often remind him that's "it's not nap time" by tapping his hand or changing position.　寝る時間じゃないだからね！ Once he's done, he would spit out my nipple and slowly wave his hand as if saying, "you may go now."

And what kind of "milk supplier" am I? Though I wish I would have so much milk that I could jump over my own "milk rope" like Murakami Takashi's Hiropan, I am a slow producer. As Sebastian goes through various stages of growth spurts, I have had to play catch-up in expressing milk. ㄋㄟㄋㄟ共和國 has been a dependable forum for ideas and solace.

In any case, I feel proud that I could breastfeed. Whenever Sebastian's hands seem to feel cold, I know breastfeeding would warm him up. Who knows, maybe in the not-so-distant future both of us can jump over my ring of sweet milk.