Top 10: Why Breastfeeding Rocks

My Top 10: Why Breastfeeding Rocks.

 

Last week during World Breastfeeding Week, I went a little against the grain and left Ellie for 4 nights for the first time.

Unsure if it might be the end of our nursing relationship, I was feeling a little uncomfortable about doing a Breastfeeding post, even though I really didn’t want the week to pass by without talking about it.

I hadn’t planned a big thing for maintaining my supply at BlogHer. I didn’t pump in advance to leave her milk, or even bring a pump with me while I was gone. My thoughtful roomie Kerri @_themaven was sweet enough to bring her single pump, which I did end up using a bit. But mainly I hand expressed just enough that I wasn’t in severe pain.

When I was reunited with my 18-month-old nursling, she was sleeping. But sure enough, the second she woke and saw me, she tugged my shirt and happily said “Milt,” which was nice. I’m not quite ready to wean.

Clearly she’s not either because the past few days she’s been making up for lost time at the boob. Any owie or perceived injustice from her big brother and a little sad voice says “Milt Milt” all over again.

So now that I’m certain I did NOT hurt my Breastfeeding relationship during World Breastfeeding Week, I thought I’d offer you my top 10 reasons why I think nursing rocks.

I preface this by saying, this is NOT to make anyone feel bad if Breastfeeding didn’t work for you. Seriously. My first, Ronin would never latch so I pumped a ridiculously long period of time, and he also got formula when I wasn’t pumping enough.

So here they are:

My Top 10 Reasons Why Breastfeeding Rocks from this 30-something stay-at-home West Coast Mama who because of horrible hospital advice never got my first child to latch and pumped and bottle fed him for 13 months, causing me to do whatever it took to Breastfeed my 2nd baby directly:

1. No pumping! Pretty self explanatory. Moo.

2. No constant washing of breast pump parts, bottle parts, nipples, etc. over and over and over and over and over …

3. No need to pack a bag with pumped milk or formula to drag wherever we go. (Food source is always available.)

4. I can lay in bed and nurse and fall asleep! No getting up to find the bottle, mix up formula or heat it up all while baby is hungry and screaming. I can sleep WHILE she eats. Win. Win.

5. No pumping! (Did I say that already? Trust me, it bears repeating.)

6. Nursing in public. Yes, I just put that as a reason WHY Breastfeeding rocks. Hear me out. I am not an exhibitionist in the least. I can be quite shy actually, so I’ve learned to nurse in public modestly but I DO NOT try to completely hide. Nursing in public makes me proud each and every time I do it because I know I’m promoting a beautiful natural act between mother and child. The more it’s out there, the more and more accepted it will become, and the more normal Breastfeeding will be for all parents. To me, that’s very important.

7. It’s the ultimate comfort for my baby. How stinkin’ cool is it that when Ellie falls and cries her first instinct is to reach for the comfort of Mama and breastmilk. I feel loved, she feels loved in return. A beautiful relationship.

8. I can go anywhere and do just about anything, and still feed my baby. Walking around at the zoo, yep. Watching John play soccer, yep. Eating a sushi dinner, yep. On the plane to Florida, yep. Walking in the French Market in New Orleans, yep. One of the keys here was learning to Breastfeed incognito while babywearing. I’ve mainly used the CatBird Baby Pikkolo or the Ergo with Ellie, and both are terrific.

9. Health benefits of Breastfeeding. It decreases the risk of breast cancer, or so I’ve read. In fact, breastmilk has been shown to have all kinds of antibodies and immunological properties for both mom and baby. Shoot, I’ve even used it to heal diaper rash, cuts and scratches and even pink eye. YES people, I put my breastmilk in others’ eyes. Watch out.

10. No Stinkin’ Pump! (Oh crap, said that one already.) OK, how about this? I never have to worry if Ellie is getting the proper balance of nutrients on those picky eating days (you know the ones all toddlers have). I know my breastmilk is hydrating and nutrient, fat and protein-rich just for her.

SO, what are your Top Reasons why you think Breastfeeding rocks?

OR not in that camp, what are your reasons for thinking Breastfeeding sucks?

I KNOW there are lots of opinions on this topic. But please check your judgement at the door. Go. Discuss.