Breastfeeding has been one of the biggest joys & biggest struggles in being a mom thus far. Let me give you some background info....
Before having Ellie, I was SO set on breastfeeding. I knew that it was the simply the best for my baby. I wondered how anyone couldn't do it. It's giving your baby something so natural, so perfect, so nutritious to their tiny bones. To me, it didn't matter if I had leaky boobs (or that the one she favored would be a considerable amount bigger than the other! ha!), had to wear terrible nursing bras that were made to make no woman feel sexy, or just have the pure inconvience of always being "available" to my baby. It just felt so right. And as a matter of fact, not opinion, it IS so right. When you look at what is better for your baby, all the doctors/researchers/etc, all agree that the "breast is best".
All that to say, the first 2 months of my life after having Ellie were the absolute hardest. She just couldn't figure out how to latch on. She would cry so hard, I would pump and feed her the milk with a tiny tube that I taped to my finger, so she wouldn't get nipple confusion. Eventually after many long weeks of that, I gave in and gave her a bottle. Man did that make life easier! Meanwhile she still didn't nurse I proceeded to have SEVEN breast infections in EIGHT weeks! Talk about misery. Somewhere around when Ellie was 8 weeks, she finally latched on...I laughed, I cried, I called Adam at work, and laughed and cried all over again...it was exactly what I had been hoping and praying for! She has been a breastfeeding champ ever since then. She is now 11 months and still going strong. I love it that she is so interactive with me during the process of nursing...she will stop and smile, play with my hair, hold my hand,...bliss.
I have been reading so many articles on when to wean from breastfeeding. I definitely don't want Ellie to nurse til she's 2 or 3 by any means, but even the little I have tried weaning her doesn't seem to be sticking. And for some reason, it feels unnatural for me to just quit cold turkey. Ellie loves it! Some articles say that babies will wean when they want to, and to just let it happen naturally, but again, if that wasn't til she was 2 or 3 I think I would be a bit weirded out...I also have lots of friends whom I respect and love quit at a year and their babies seem to take to that wonderfully....hmm, decisions decisions! I have read that some mom's felt like they were robbed from sweet time with their babies when the doctor told them to quit at a year. They said that they weren't ready, and the baby didn't seem to be ready, and they really regret it. Do any of you who breastfed have any thoughts on this??? I'd love to know.
Ok, now to address the sticky part. I have heard a lot of women who either decide to not breastfeed because of the inconvenience, or they try for a couple of weeks and give up because it was "too hard". Since nursing Ellie, I have a huge passion about stuff like this. I always think, "Well, welcome to parenthood woman! It's hard. But don't you want to do the best thing for your baby?!...or is it more about you???". It just makes me wonder what the baby would say if it had a choice between momma's milk or the local formula farm. I am by no means saying that it's not hard work, and that it would be easy to give up when your nipples are raw and have sores all over them! Sheesh!!! That is some pretty terrible stuff....but just like anything else, things get better with time. So I guess my statement or rather, my challenge would be for ladies to stick it out with their babies. It's so so good for them. Or if you do wanna give up on having them on the breast, how about pumping?! As long as it's YOUR milk, you are doing wonders for that little soul! I know it's a very sensitive subject, and maybe I have it all wrong as to the reasons why most women don't do it, but I'm hoping that by posting this, my mind will be opened up and able to understand better from women who have experienced this first-hand.
P.S. Go made our bodies to produce milk, so why not use them for the purpose in which they were created? Why go against nature?!
Gollie! That was alot of writing....the Family bed will have to wait for another time. That's enough to chew on :)
Til next time,
