When a mother promptly provides milk for her hungry child, a child experiences and learns about God’s timely provisions. When a mother consistently nurses her child over a long period of time (like a number of years), the child experiences and learns about God’s faithfulness. A nursing mother’s loving arms gently wrapped around her baby warms not only a baby’s body but also the baby’s heart and soul. The baby is comforted by his mother’s loving presence and touch. This experience in infancy gives the baby a sense of security and protection from the world around him. Psalm 22:9 (AMP) says, “Yet You are He who took me out of the womb; You made me hope and trust when I was on my mother’s breasts.” Babies learn to hope and trust that their needs would be met at the breasts. They hope and trust that when they cry (be it out of hunger, thirst or fear), their mom would be there to nourish and comfort them. Breastfeeding, therefore, not only provides for their bodies; but also, for their souls.
I was amazed when I discovered in the Old Testament that God compares His love for His people to the love of a nursing mother for her child. One popular verse related to this is Isaiah 49:15 (NLT) that says, “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget.” This verse recognizes the very strong unique bond between a mother and the child that she nursed. It’s as if God was saying in this verse that it’s impossible for a mother to forget or stop loving the child that she nursed at her breasts. Wow!
Here’s another verse. This time, it’s from Isaiah 66:12-13 (ESV). “For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you…” I’m so honored to be a nursing mom! Imagine, God compared Himself to a nursing mom like me! God must have high regard for nursing moms! He definitely sees the powerful love that fills a nursing mother’s heart which overflows through the milk that comes from her breasts. This verse gave insight, too, to the other purpose of breastfeeding, which is to bring comfort to a child.
When I was a first-time nursing mom, one of the pieces of advice that I heard was that I should not use my breasts to pacify or comfort my baby. I was told that breastfeeding should be mainly for providing my baby with food. I felt torn by this advice; for, a part of me wanted so much to bring my baby to my bosom every time he cried. Now I understand why I felt that way!
“God designed a mother’s breast
not only as a source of nutrition or food for her child;
but also, as a place of comfort and love.”
I’m glad that as I grew in experience as a nursing mom, I’ve learned to break away from this advice. I’m thankful for the grace and wisdom to follow my instincts and to comfort my child through my breasts whenever he needs it. My second child is so blessed since he benefitted from the new lessons I have learned.
That’s me breastfeeding my second child
during our Mother’s Day photo shoot.
I so love breastfeeding! I think God designed us moms this way so that when our babies are hungry, we would feel it in our breasts. When we are away from our babies, we would feel a tug in our hearts to run home to them. I think God designed us, mothers, to be near our children especially when they are young. I pray that we moms would recognize this wiring from God and we would choose to show our love to our children by breastfeeding them.
My strong belief is that breastfeeding is love poured out from God’s heart to a mother’s heart and into a baby’s heart. I believe that we moms are privileged to be given this sacred task of being God’s first instruments in making His unconditional and passionate love known to our children. I pray that more mothers would accept and embrace this sacred calling. That is one of my reasons for writing BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. If only more moms would know what really transpires when a mom breastfeeds her baby, I think that more moms would choose to breastfeed their kids.
Mother’s Month Promo
We have an ongoing Mother’s Month promo. We’re giving away nutritious and delicious treats for every book purchase. This is our way of honoring breastfeeding moms this May.
We have partnered with Alexa’s Kitchen and M2 malunggay tea drink to give this wonderful treat to pregnant and breastfeeding moms this month of May. Those who will purchase a copy of my breastfeeding book with receive 2 lactation cookies from Alexa’s Kitchen and 1 ready-to-drink M2 malunggay tea drink.
I have tasted the lactation cookies and they are delicious, chewy and moist. They are quite big also. I’m sure the moms who will enjoy these cookies. This can be perfectly paired with M2’s malunggay drink which is not only refreshing but also healthy and helps boost the mom’s milk supply. These two products have galactagogues that help increase a breastfeeding mom’s milk supply. That’s why we chose these products for our Mother’s Month promo.
Don’t miss this chance to avail of this promo that will surely put a smile on the faces of the moms in your life! Buy a copy here. Hurry! Offer good while supply lasts. This promo is for Philippine residents only.
Let’s keep the love flowing from God’s heart through ours into the hearts of our babes!
TERESA GUMAP-AS DUMADAG is a woman who wears many hats. But among the many hats she wears, one of her favorite hats is being mom to her kids. She loves to share inspiration and wisdom as a speaker, author, blogger and freelance writer. She is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. The first two books she authored were When My Bridegroom Comes and How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams. She's also the author of the upcoming book How To Be A Hands-On Parent while Earning. She's the blogger behind this blog Hands-On Parent while Earning and two other blogs namely, Mommy Bares All and When My Bridegroom Comes. She’s also a freelance contributing writer for Summit Media (Smart Parenting Online, Smart Parenting and Good Housekeeping), The Philippine Online Chronicles, Kerygma and Didache. She is the President and Founder of Full Life Cube Publishing and Events Services (http://www.fulllifecube.com), through which she inspires and equips her clients to succeed in their businesses/careers while living out their priorities and life’s purposes. She works from home as a career coach and counselor and a consultant for management, human resources and training solutions. Connect with Teresa through Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
This is a perfect Mother’s Day gift! Looking back, I wish I had your book available to get inspirations while I struggling to breastfeed my newborn. It was such a struggle for us that in the end, with a broken heart, I had to give in and feed him with formula as my milk supply never improved and it was both frustrating and heartbreaking for me and my little man. I wasn’t aware of these milk-boosting products or of lactation experts I can go to for advise and support. If I could do motherhood all over again, I will make sure I have all I needed to help me have a successful breastfeeding journey. It is good that books like this, and products such as those you mentioned, are easily available to mothers nowadays!
I don’t have children but I keep hearing about how important it is for mothers to breastfeed their children. It’s good for their immune system and it’s also good for them. I do have a friend who had a baby 6 months ago and she just started to diversify the food for her child. But because of the breastfeeding he is healthy and got all the nutrition he needed.
very nice sharing about your breastfeeding journey as a mum. It’s very personal & useful sharing to all new mums. I really enjoying reading it & learnt a lot. Thanks for this posting. Am sharing it to my sis in law who just gave birth & breastfeeding my niece currently. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
My sister is now pregnant with her very first baby and motherhood is really new to her. My mother however is constantly guiding her with all the process and everything about being a mother. One of her constant reminder is the breastfeeding. She highly encouraged my sister to breastfeed her baby because that’s what she did to all of us and we know the fact how healthy it is to breastfeed a baby. Kudos to all mothers who never, by any means, hesitated to breastfeed their child!
I can never understand the sacrifice a mom has to do. Not only does she go through childbirth, she also is the one to breastfeed the babies. I really applaud every single mom out there. Nothing can really ever compare to the sacrifice of a mother.
I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, I will definitely breastfeed them. There’s just no beating your mom’s natural milk 🙂 Aside from the health benefits, you also gain a connection which is quite different from just giving them store-bought milk. However, I am aware that not all women can do breastfeeding, so I won’t judge and just want to support every mother out there! This is a great post for Mother’s day!
Your experience was good to read. I personally can not relate to it as I’m not a mother and I want to adopt a child rather than give birth. So I don’t think I’ll even experience this. But even my cousins and friends who have been through this phase, have said the same like you 🙂 Happy motherhood!
I am so excited about your Mother’s Day Promo! It is a sure treat to get these freebies together with your book. I have been looking for lactation cookies and I will definitely consider these Alexa’s Kitchen cookies you mentioned.
The title of your post says it all. It is simple and beautiful. I totally agree about breastfeeding that it gives comfort, love as well as nourishment. I am lucky I am still able to breastfeed my son even if he is already almost 3 years old. I hope more women would resort to breastfeeding. I know it is difficult in the beginning but it will all be worth it in the end. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve always advocated for breastfeeding since I’ve been able to prove just how beneficial it was for my kids. I never forced though or gave disapproving looks because it is still a mother’s choice. I do encourage and inform when I can. From the close bond that you form as they suckle from your breast to the health benefits they gain breastfeeding will always be best for baby.
Breastfeeding is something controversial in other countries since they find it “offensive” but here in our country, it’s something empowering. It’s great that mothers, celebrity or not, unite when it comes to breastfeeding. This is very timely since mothers’ day happens to be this month too. It makes me remember all the hardships that our mothers bore when they were carrying and raising us. Even the little things count as blessings. Happy mom’s day!
This is so timely as we are close to celebrate Mothers day. Reading your post actually made me think about my mother, how she took care of me, especially when I was a little child. I love that you gather all the verses about a heart of a mother to a child, which has given me enough understanding how deep is a mother’s love for her child. I’m so blessed reading your blog post, I should make some surprised for my mom this coming Sunday. Thank you so much for writing and sharing this with us.
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