We all have that friend who is totally anti-nursing and the friend who is a die hard breastfeeding advocate.
I happen to be a huge breastfeeding fan…no crazy sit-ins at the White House, but I definitely am pro-nursing. But not for the reasons that you think. I am totally 100% selfish when it comes to this topic.
With my first child, everyone said, “You have zero pain tolerance. You’ll never be able to nurse your baby”. Not to mention that I knew NO ONE who had ever nursed their baby. But, I sure did prove them wrong! I nursed that girl until her first birthday…then sadly, I dried up.
I nursed baby #2 for 1 ยฝ years and baby #3 for 2 ยฝ years! {And yes, I need a boob job now.} My decision to nurse all of my kids was not for the health benefits that it provides to them. That was just a perk.
The reasons that I chose to nurse were strictly for ME –
- It was FREE
- I did not have to mess with bottles
- No getting up in the middle of the night to fumble around (I love having them in the room with me. Who am I kidding, I LOVE family bed)
- I could just lift my shirt and do it anywhere. Which you bet your you-know-what, I did
- Did I mention it was FREE?
- I selfishly loved the bonding/cuddle time
As much as I LOVE nursing my babies, we definitely have had some serious woes. Mastitis. Twice. NO JOKE. That was by far the worst 2 weeks of my life.
And then there is all of the stuff that you read about (and yes, all of this happened to me)
- Dry, cracking, bleeding nipples {OMG, lanolin for the win}
- Engorgement {worse in the shower!}
- Pumping {UGH pumping is a PAIN!}
- Blocked ducts {super painful}
- Diet restrictions for a sensitive baby {What?! No tomatoes??}
- Re-introducing alcohol back into your diet {Oh boy, this one was an issue for hubby. For real Hunny, he wonโt be drunk, I promise.}
- Rude people and their comments {Like for real? Do you want me to punch you?}
But I have to say, despite all of what I went throughโฆ3 times {and literally 3 weeks away from baby #4}, I would not give it up. I just love everything about it. Well, people and their comments is probably what I could live withoutโฆwhat are people thinking when they make comments? Didnโt your mama teach you that if you donโt have anything nice to say, donโt say anything at all? Especially to a hormonal woman who may not think twice about knocking you for a loop?!?!
Where do you stand on breastfeeding? Have you experienced the woes? Are your wows selfish like mine?? Cโmon, I cant be alone here!
One selfish Mama right here! We all have our own perceptions of what is more convenient but I can say, without a doubt, nursing was the most convenient choice for me – until I went back to work, however. My hat goes off to the exclusively pumping Mama’s out there. My experience in the workplace and navigating pumping as a nursing/FTWM was actually one of the things prompting me to become a CLC. My only advice to moms is that nursing is a personal choice, one that can come with challenges. But, know that if you want to nurse you are not alone and whatever the challenge, there are resources and solutions. I loved this post, Eryn!
I am so glad that I am not alone!!! I was hesitant to put this out there LOL!
I can imagine! I think it’s great, though. It’s important to talk about the realities and have honest conversations about it, especially for the new or expecting mother’s out there <3
Your not alone. I wasn’t really able to do it with my first (even with a lactation consultant he just never figured it out or maybe I didn’t? ) so I pumped for 5 months. So time consuming and a pain. Have you ever tried to console a screaming baby while pumping? It must have been a sight. I even figured a way to pump while driving….eek. My second has none of those issues. She had no issues and at first was easy to switch between breast and bottle until I went to work. Then she decided no more bottles. What a stinker. She learned how to use a sippy cup and I breastfed her the rest of the time. She is about to turn one and she seems to be weaning herself now. Comparing both expieriences breastfeeding is way easier and so much more convenient. Free is awesome too. Glad I got to experience it with at least one of them. Thanks for posting.