Breastfeeding is hard. A lot harder than I expected. Before Easton was born, I figured it would be convenient, cheap and of course, the healthiest food for him. I was right about those things, but what I didn't realize was how exhausting, painful, INconvenient, and frustrating it could be.
For the first 8 weeks of his life, I cried a lot when I fed him. No one told me how painful it would be, how my nipples would be tender, raw, cracked and bleeding. How I'd have to sit with him attached to my boobs for 45-60 minutes every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day, for weeks. How I'd have to fight him to take a bottle of expressed milk so I could go out for more than 3 hours, a fight I would lose, time and time again (and still do, to this day!). I researched breastfeeding before he was born, but I guess because I had already decided I wanted to do it, I didn't really think much of the downsides of nursing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm COMPLETELY pro-breastfeeding. It's the way God (or 'nature' if you'd prefer) intended for babies to be fed. There are so many wonderful benefits to breastfeeding, and I plan on nursing Easton beyond his first year of life, as long as he's interested in doing so (within reason!). (Don't worry... you wont find me whippin' out a boob at the mall for my 4 year old... not that there's anything wrong with it if that's what you choose, it's just not for me!).
I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with breastfeeding. Mostly love, but there's some hate in there too, I'm not gonna lie! I've been nursing Easton for 8 months now and there have been several instances where I've wanted to quit, but I've persevered because I know its the healthiest choice for him, and I want him to have what's best.
Speaking of what's best... I recently stumbled upon an amazing article over at "Alpha Parent" which chronicles the timeline of a breastfed baby, outlining the benefits for each month of continued breastfeeding. I've done somewhat of a summary here...
IF YOU BREASTFED YOUR BABY FOR...
1
week: You’ve provided your newborn with Colostrum, the most valuable food he will ever ingest in
his lifetime and skin-to-skin contact which helps
regulate the baby's temperature, breathing, heart rate and sugar levels.
1 month: You’ve
provided your baby protection against food allergies up to 3 years old and
respiratory allergies up to 17 years old
6 weeks: You’ve lowered the risk of chest
infections up to 7 years old
3 months: You’ve provided your baby a 27-40%
reduction in the risk of asthma, enhanced development in the key parts of the
brain, a 19-27% reduction in the incidence of Type 1 diabetes and lower
incidence of ADHD
4 months: You’ve provided your baby with
protection against ear infections and respiratory tract diseases for 1 year, and
a reduced risk of SIDS.
6 months: You’ve provided your baby with protection
again eczema during the first 3 years, and a 19% reduction in the risk of
childhood leukemia
7 months: A breastfed baby is more
likely to score higher on intelligence tests, and be generally more active and
alert than babies who did not have the benefit for their mother’s milk.
8 months: Your child will be less likely
to need orthodontic work or speech therapy.
1 year: Your child is more likely to
display better social adjustment when they begin school, have a lower risk of
heart disease, a lower mean blood pressure and total
cholesterol, a lower prevalence of obesity and type-2 diabetes as an adult. You’ve saved
more than $1200.
2 years and beyond: A child
breastfed for more than 2 years will have fewer types and shorter duration of
illness, less medical care than their non-breastfeeding peers and a higher IQ.
Benefits for
mom:
•
Reduces the risk of breast cancer
•
Reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer
•
Lessens osteoporosis
•
Promotes emotional health by reducing the likelyhood of postpartum anxiety and depression
•
Promotes postpartum weight loss
As you can see, breast milk is truly AMAZE-BALLS! I'm proud to be a breastfeeding mom, and I'm proud of the women I know who breastfed their babies for ANY length of time. It's one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. With that said though, I certainly don't believe myself to be better than mom's who feed their children formula. I gave Easton one bottle of formula every night for a couple of months until he flat out refused to take it around 4 months old. How you choose to feed your baby is a very personal choice and is dependent on your own personal situation. There are also so many reasons why the breastfeeding relationship comes to an early end (or can never begin in the first place), but as moms, we all want to do what's best for our babies and that's what matters most. As long as we're nurturing, loving, responsive and supporting mothers, our children will thrive :)
1 week old
8 months old
I have found here much useful information for myself. Many thanks to the editors for the info.
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