Natural but not necessarily easy

Sonya Sapir, Vickie Durgin and Topaz Weis are nothing if not determined.

The three mothers range in age from 29 to 24 to 43, respectively, and live in different towns: Williston, Monkton and Burlington. They don't know each other, but share a common belief that breastfeeding is ideal for all babies.

This credo does not necessarily mean that Sapir, Durgin and Weis have had an easy time of it. Despite varying degrees of difficulty, however, they remain undeterred when it comes to nursing their children:

"It just makes sense," Sapir says of breastfeeding her 8-week-old son, Colden.

"I like looking into my babies' eyes while they nurse," acknowledges Durgin, the mother of toddler Hunter and his brother Hayden, who turns 1 this week. "At the end of a hectic day, it's a way of saying, 'Mommy loves you.'"

"I want the absolute best for my daughter," says Weis, who adopted 3-month-old Kiki in mid-May.

World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-7, is a time for parents and health professionals to celebrate the advantages of drinking mother's milk.

"Most pediatricians recognize the nutritional, immunological, social, economic and developmental benefits of nursing," observes Dr. Lewis First, chief of pediatrics for Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care. "The best thing a mom and dad can do is breastfeed their baby for as long as possible."


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