Breastfeeding 3 week old Cole with my Bebe Au Lait Nusing Cover. Look at his tiny little legs sticking out!
This week’s topic for #BumpMonth is Breastfeeding.
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I think I have a somewhat unique experience as I formula fed my first and breastfeed my second. I’ve written about this a few times so here’s a little excerpt from a review I published here last year:
I formula fed my first son when he was an infant. I walked into the hospital at 41 weeks and if someone had stopped me and asked me if I was going to breastfeed or formula feed as I was walking in, I would have responded, “I’m going to try and breastfeed and see how it goes.” But I didn’t know much and after a horrible first time delivery that ended up in an emergency c-section, I gave up breastfeeding after two weeks.
When my second son was born in 2006, I was a little better prepared. He was breastfed until he was 11 months old. It was easy.
While I have two totally healthy and happy children and I don’t believe in regrets, I do often wonder if I would have made it beyond two weeks with Nate had I been given more breastfeeding support. But I didn’t know that I needed to get it. I had cans of formula, I was depressed and breastfeeding was hard, so it seemed like an obvious path.
While I find nothing wrong with formula feeding, I do wish for every new Mom that they could receive as much support as possible to make the breastfeeding choice. To know that, hell yah, it’s really hard in the beginning – but if you power through it, it gets easier. It may not work out for everyone – and everyone has to do their best to do what’s right for both their baby and themselves but I wholeheartedly feel that making the effort and having the support in the beginning is key.
I wanted to add too that besides the obvious better choice health-wise, I think in the end breastfeeding can be so much easier on Mom too. It was for me. I got more sleep when I breastfeed since I was the bottle. Getting up with Nate to get a bottle, heat up the formula, etc ended up being much more a hassle than when you’re a walking milk machine. And of course going out is the same – I loved not having to lug around a bunch of supplies when it was Cole’s turn. (Other than a nursing cover. Which I will also note was huge for me as I’m a modest person and having a cover made it possible for me to comfortably nurse in public. But I digress…)
Check out the other Bump Month posts for the month of May. I also have a giveaway for over $1000 worth of baby products in conjunction with Bump Month. Haven’t entered yet? You can do so here.
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Kelly Whalen The Centsible Life @centsiblelife
Julie Meyers Pron Just Precious @justprecious
Andrea Fellman Savvy Sassy Moms @savvysassymoms
Jessica Rosenberg It’s My Life @kikarose
Laurie Cooper Guessing all the Way @clueless_mama
Leticia Barr Tech Savvy Mama @techsavvymama
Alison Ray Sassy Moms in the City @sassymomchicago
Grace Duffy Formely Gracie @graceduffy
Whitney Wingerd Mommies with Style @WhitneyMWS
Agree each experience is unique to the Mama and baby involved. I also had experince of both bottle and breastfeeding. Frst child bottle fed :o), second nursed(for only a few weeks.
I s ure do agree with you Whitney that support and knowledge/education are key- actually that can be applied to anything-
I had taken natural childbirth classes and one of the segments was on breastfeeding-so i had the education.
Health issue: all that we read points to voting for Mom’s milk. I am a however. My experience was the opposite.
Firtst baby on bottle was very healthy-(until age 3 when ear infections began).
Second baby had horrible colic from the start. Now who’s to say the milk vs bottle was the key -all i know is once i got baby#2 onto the bottle, she slept much more easily. BUt who knows. as i said, much literature indicates natural mamma’s milk is best. So each has to make the individual choice- and important NOT to be pressured one way or another.
I agree. With my first it was soooo tough in the beginning. Sore, cracked nipples. Ack! I wanted to flick him every time he latched on. But luckily it DID get better. Second one was super easy.
Support, advice and understanding is essential for newbies!
I think it’s important to remember that breastmilk is not only a healthier choice (most of the time) for baby but that breastfeeding also has far reaching better health consequences for mom too! I think for that reason all moms should be supported and encouraged to breastfeed for as long as possible. Of course, it’s not going to work out for all moms but I think we need to remember that’s it’s not just what is best for baby, but what is best for mom too?
Paula – you are right, great point! I think everyone knows that breast is best for baby but not everyone thinks about the Mom. Totally helps with weight loss too!