I have never fasted while breasfeeding which means I still have so many days to make up from previous years so I’ve decided to try it this year. My little one is 7 months old and I figured I can just give her water if she gets thirsty and if hungry, she can eat solid food. All sorted.
Well. No.
It turns out she much prefers breastmilk over other sustenance and so I think it’s safe to say Ramadan is kicking my butt this year. I am spent. I have no milk left but she’s surprisingly ok even though I know she is hungry and thirsty at the end of the day. I’ve switched tactics to fasting every alternate day. We shall see how we go.
I have just finished reading “Life of Pi” and who said it would make you believe in God? It had the opposite effect on me – I still believe in God but the message I got from book is that there is no God. Funny how people can read the same book and see something completely different. Gorgeous book and a bit of a tear jerker am afraid. So all you softies, prepare yourself by stocking up on the Kleenex before reading.
From the book:
“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless. These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, “Business as usual.” But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.
These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside. They should direct their anger at themselves. For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart. Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defense, not God’s, that the self-righteous should rush.”
Tasmiya! Long time no see, lovely to find you here again, saw your name on Indigo Jo’s blogroll. May Allah make it easy for you and all the parents of young children.
I love that snippet from the book, it’s been on my reading list for awhile, hope to get to it soon, insha’Allah.
This is probably a silly question but I thought you could skip Ramadan if you’re breastfeeding?
Hello bluemilk – it’s not a silly question, just one with a complicated answer depending on who you ask. Breastfeeding women are exempt from fasting but it’s the making up of fasts where things can get a bit more nitpicky. Some schools of thought believe that the days must be made up (meaning the fasts that are missed will need to be performed at a later time) at a time when breastfeeding ceases but other schools are ok with paying money to feed the poor as an expiation especially if the number of days missed are great. (I have lost count of the number of days I have still to do.)
Some women actually manage to fast even if their babies are exclusively breastfed. I’ve never managed this but thought I’d give it a try to see if I could manage now that my daughter is onto solids and drinking water. Plus if I could manage the whole month, that much less for me to make up! It didn’t work out so well with me – I played it by ear, fasting here and there. I think I might have only done about a third of the month.
Ify! I am still blogging every now and then! Ameen to your dua. I pray you had a wonderful Eid. x
You read the book finally!! Congrats on your new addition ! How was Eid? Did you go to Eidfest?? I saw some tim tams at the supermarket today, reminded me of Oz. Thought I’d drop by your blog and see how you’re doing…
Salams & Eid Mubarak
I attempted to fast with my first born, and I went from producing low volume milk to almost nothing, so I decided not to fast. Either way, I felt guilty! I know a woman that fasted while exclusively nursing and she didn’t have any issues, but most of the milkin’ mamas I know found it very difficult for them and their babes either because mom was producing enough but getting dehydrated, or their supply dropped. Fasting every other day is brilliant!!
MashAllah, Congrats on your baby
7 mos is such a cute age (and it keeps getting better and better!!!). Enjoy!
Wasalaam and Eid Mubarak to you too
Thank you for your comment.
I think those women who can manage to fast and breastfeed exclusively are blessed! I know I couldn’t do it.
I love this age, too. It’s all the more special because I know in about a year’s time that negativism starts and it’s all too hard. Not looking forward to that at all!
Umm fil ard – sorry _ I thought I had posted my reply to you – but obviously I had only did it in my head!
Yes, it was through your recommendation that I read this book and when you told me it was about a boy and a tiger on a boat, well it was too intriguing and could it really be a good story? Yes, it *was* a good story – beautifully written and many many lovely paragraphs on God.
Tim tams are really not that fantastic but I’d imagine if I lived somewhere where they were scarce, I might miss them!