We're still here, but I'm a little bit poorly at the moment (cold or something similar)
Luckily, Harrison hasn't caught my lurgie, which has prompted me to throw a bit of breastfeeding info at you all...
Breastmilk is a wonderful thing (the term 'liquid gold' is very accurate)
You can find around 1 million white blood cells in a single drop of the stuff. These cells are called macrophages and they eat germs for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner, and don't forget the snacks) Luckily, these are greedy little blighters and this is great news for your little ones. (Side note, mine is currently blowing kisses at me - what a charmer Harrison is)
But, there's more...
Not only are many of those nasty germs gobbled up before getting in to your baby's system, those that do get through will have another fight on their hands.
'In the blue corner, weighing in at, well, not very much at all being that they are microscopic, we have the Immunoglobulin A!.
Alright, so it's not the catchiest of names, but it certainly packs a punch. These little wonders coat the lining of your baby's intestines, which prevents those pesky germs getting through. This stops those nasty little viruses developing and can also help prevent food allergies by stopping foreign food molecules from getting in to the bloodstream and causing a bad reaction.
Clever stuff, right?
And there's more. Those little kisses you plant on your baby's chubby little cheeks? You're sucking up some of the germs that sit on their skin (nice) and your magic boobs (yes, that's the scientific term) tailor the antibodies they make to combat those germs. WOW!
Aaaaand, you've heard that you can't catch the same cold twice, right? That's because your body will fight each cold with antibodies it makes especially for it and it'll remember the design to stop that same cold from bothering you again. Well, these specially designed antibodies also find their way through the boob juice (again, scientific term) and stop your baby catching the cold in the first place - genius!
So, though I'm writing this in a snotty, sweating haze (attractive, right?), Harrison is sitting pretty without so much as a sniffle.
...and, on that note, I shall toddle off to give Harrison some mummy made medicine.
Night all x