Breastfeeding YES
There are many things to consider when deciding how you’re going to provide for your newborn. One of the biggest decisions is to breastfeed or not. Every woman desires to have the ability to breastfeed their baby. When you think about it, the idea comes naturally. Yes of course I’m going to nurse my child, why wouldn’t I? Then again why would you want to? Once your baby is born is when the decision is truly made. You wonder what women did before baby formula was created. How did the women provide for their newborn if they “couldn’t” produce milk? What if it was too hard on the mother? There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing to breastfeed and there are also a lot of weighed opinions on the subject. It is a BIG commitment when you make the choice to go through with a breastfeeding journey. A BIG ONE.
We chose to breastfeed Michael because you know the saying, “breast is best”. It is also an amazing bonding experience to have with your newborn. Some of my favorite moments from when he was first born were sitting there with Michael while nursing. The unspoken bond and skin to skin bond is built heavily during these times. It is a beautiful thing. It is also an honor to be able to provide for your child and nurture and know that you are their nutrient source. Like the root of a tree. 
When Michael was born we were blessed to have it happen very naturally. Michael knew what he wanted, and he went for it. And it was pretty much success from the start. Every mom and child have a different journey and story with being able to breastfeed or not. I can tell you right now, as it may have come easy for us on the logistic side of things, the mental and emotional side is a whole other journey. There are so many factors that go into breastfeeding, as easy as it is to start it is just as easy to opt out and there is nothing wrong with either decision. Being able to breastfeed Michael felt like a blessing and a huge sacrifice. Which is why the mental and emotional side comes at a much higher cost. You have to sacrifice and be fully committed when making the choice to breastfeed your child. My question to you, are you ready to make the necessary sacrifices if need be to provide for your child?
If they refuse a bottle and will only take you, are you willing to be present for the next 6-12 months of the breastfeeding journey? If you want to go to dinner with a friend, you either are taking your baby with you or have about an hour to go to dinner if they don’t take a bottle. You and your baby are chained and inseparable for a year. An entire year you will not have the freedom or luxury of getting a little self-time. Are you ready for that? Not only are you pregnant for 9 months of your life you are dedicating yourself to another year of being on pretty much the same diet and exclusions as being pregnant. When you’re pregnant they eat what you eat, and the same things apply when you are breastfeeding. I have had to cut all dairy out of my diet besides cheese (let’s be real I love cheese and I wasn’t giving it up) because Michael was sensitive to dairy. In the beginning I could tell peanut butter was affecting him and it was one of the things I LOVED eating while pregnant, but it affected him negatively once he was born so I had to sacrifice eating my peanut butter banana protein smoothies, wahh. You also must consume a higher calorie amount to keep your supply up, 500 more calories a day. Dieting to help get that pre-pregnancy body back isn’t happening until after you are done breastfeeding. You can eat clean, but you have to eat larger portions. Your body isn’t yours from the time you find out you are pregnant to the time you have weaned your baby. Can you handle that? These are some of the things you need to start preparing for when thinking about how you are going to provide for your baby.
I love, repeat LOVE being able to nurse Michael. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that I can provide for him and our nursing relationship has been successful. During the beginning it wasn’t that easy though. I had talked with two different lactation consultants because Michael was just being difficult. Just plain difficult. He would fall asleep while feeding and wouldn’t open his mouth to get a deep latch. When a baby does a shallow latch, he will suck until he falls asleep but not actually get the efficient amount of milk he needs. A shallow latch is also painful for you. When the latch isn’t correctly done it can cause a variety of side effects such as sore nipples, inverted nipples, bleeding and cracked nipples, and an unpleasant baby along with other not so pleasant.. things. Needless to say, it was a really tough time for Michael and me. I was so discouraged and felt like giving up so many times. Knowing that I was blessed to be able to provide for Michael and so many women yearn to be able to do what came somewhat natural for me, I felt an obligation to keep going. Not just because I knew it was better for Michael but for all the women who couldn’t breastfeed and wanted to.
The first 6 weeks are the hardest! You are learning about each other and how to develop a successful feeding relationship. There can be a lot of peaks and valleys during this time and my biggest tip to you is: DONT GIVE UP!
As women we have to come together in our motherhood journeys and support each other through everything we have going on. I remember feeling so isolated I would tell Kevin I felt like I was in solitary confinement. There would be days I would not get out of where I fed Michael. He would leave for the day and when he returned I would be in the exact same position. Why? Because Michael was having one of his days. If you aren’t at this point in your motherhood journey yet, when you reach one of these days (you’ll know what I mean when they happen, I PROMISE) read “PARENTING SOMETHING YOU NEED TO HEAR”. It was written to help the days you forget what life even is. If you have gone through this learning phase you may be saying, been there girl! One thing I continued to do through the beginning of my breastfeeding journey was reach out and talk with other mothers who had just recently been where I was. This helped me so much in remembering I WASN’T IN THIS ALONE. And if you are reading my post know you aren’t in this journey alone either.
One thing I feel every time I feed Michael is how amazing my body is. I created a human! YOU created a human! We create humans with OUR bodies! Let that soak in for a moment… what a miracle we are and can create. When Michael got his first cold it was so cool to know and see the change in my milk cater to his body’s needs. Something formula doesn’t do. The milk I pumped at 2 months isn’t going to provide the same nutrients to what he needs at 4 months. As he grows I know my milks nutrients are changing to cater to what he needs as he develops and learns. That thought, is cool. Our bodies are so neat, so beautiful, and so miraculous. If you lost sight of that, go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “I am beautiful”. No matter how long it has been since you showered, how many days you have been wearing the same outfit, or how much spit up is running down your cleavage, go tell yourself you are beautiful, and mean it.
If you are choosing to breastfeed and are saying YES to the long, treacherous and wonderful journey ahead…congratulations! No matter If that journey lasts 6 weeks, 7 months or a year, you have chosen to provide for your baby. It isn’t easy, but like anything the harder something is, the more worth it becomes. So hang in there and keep rocking mammas. Next week I’ll be going over a non-breastfeeding journey. Make sure to subscribe to get updated on my latest posts! As always, my beautiful, cheers!