Dear Friends:
    I went to see March of the Penguins last night. The  film work is 
fabulous as we take a peak at a year in the lives of Emperor  Penguins.
The parents walk (or slide on their bellies when their feet get tired) 70+  
miles from the sea to inland to mate. When the egg is born, the female 
transfers  it to the dorsums of the feet of the male, who makes a nest with his 
special  tummy flap. The females then go back to the sea (70+ miles) and fatten up. 
After  about 4 months, they return, within a day or two of the egg hatching. 
They feed  the baby, and take over care of the fledgling.
 
The males during this time have eaten nothing. They guard the egg. Baby  
emperor penguins have to be some of the cutest babies on earth!
 
When the females return, they take over the child raising and the males all  
trek back to the sea. Life is tough in the Antarctic; eggs freeze. Babies die. 
 If a baby dies, some mothers try to steal a baby from another mother;  the 
flock doesn't let her suceed. This was very moving to watch.
 
Seeing all this makes me think of how lucky some humans are in  comparison 
with these penguins. The penguins each do their job. There is no  complaining 
about car payments, lack of communication, or about needing a rest  and a 
restaurant dinner because "I just trekked home 70 miles over snow and  ice in my 
bare feet". Each bird does its job without question. The basic life  processes 
all work; the trick is to survive the environment.
 
The community of birds, the flock, truly stick together to survive. A lone  
penguin will not live. There's a lesson for all of us!
 
warmly,
 
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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