Booby Talk….The Good, Bad, Ugly…and Awesome about Breastfeeding

I've been thinking and debating for quite awhile about writing a post about something I am very passionate about.  Breastfeeding!  As it turns out, this topic can get people pretty stirred up.  So, before I say anything else at all, I want you to know that by writing this post I am in NO WAY trying to make anyone feel bad or guilty for not breastfeeding your child.  That would never, ever be my intention.  My sole purpose of even writing this is to simply promote it to those that may be considering it in the future.  I know that above all, it is most important that the baby is fed and gets the nutrients that they need.  I know that babies who get formula usually turn out just fine.   For what it is worth, I had formula after I was five months old and I like to think I turned out just fine, lol :o)  My husband had formula his whole babyhood, as did majority of my other family members.  So, this is definitely NOT a bash against formula.  But, I also know that it is a fact that breast milk is better in many ways for both the baby and mother.   So, I feel obligated to share my story and the information that I have learned since I first began to even consider my options for feeding my babies.

I remember the first time I ever even considered that there was a difference between formula and breast milk was when I was in nursing school.  I was sitting in class and the topic of the day was about breastfeeding.  Believe it or not, I think it was the first time I ever heard the words "Breast is best."  I was definitely not in the know about these kinds of things since I had yet to even consider having my own children.  I was actually almost offended that someone would say that.  Nearly everyone I knew gave their babies formula and did so for good reasons.  In most cases it was because they had to work and as far as I knew that was their only option.  I remember thinking something like, "Who is actually able to stay with their baby ALL the time to feed him or her?  Not that this would be bad, but really?  In America?  In the 21st century?  Most women have to work outside of the the home and this would just be impossible…"  But as I continued to listen, I was told all of the very valid reasons why breast really is best.  So after I left class for the day, I did have a new perspective on breastfeeding.  I thought it would be a good thing to do for a few weeks on maternity leave, but there is no way I could be able to do it for a WHOLE year!  I knew I would one day be a working mama and there would be just no way.

So, fast forward five or six years.  Chris and I decide that it's finally time!  We want a baby!  Six months later I was joining the June 2009 Birth Club on good old babycenter.com!!!  Now, I am almost embarrassed by the vast amount of time I spent (and still spend) on this website.  Amongst the drama that is sometimes found in this subculture of the internet, I have to say that my eyes were opened to a whole new world about all things baby.  As I spent more and more time engulfed in the things people were writing about and asking questions about, I kept seeing more things about breastfeeding.  I figured that it would be a good time to consider the option again.  The more I read about breastfeeding, the more of a good idea it seemed.  I thought, maybe I can do this!  I learned all about breast pumps and the legal rights that women have to take breaks at work to use them! So when the time came for me to create my baby registry at Target, I took the plunge and put the Medela Breast Pump on there!  Why was this such a big deal?  Because they are not cheap!  I think mine was almost $300!  My mom thought I was crazy and asked how much I really planned on using something like that.  When I told her for a year, she just laughed and said ok... Well, if you know me well, when someone thinks I won't be able to do something and lets me know it, it makes me want to do it really, really bad!!!

When Lily arrived I was all ready to breastfeed her!  I thought…  I guess I didn't read quite enough about how HARD it can be in the beginning!!   I did however read (from apparently a not so credible source) that babies don't really need to eat right away.  So, after she was born, I did not rush to try to nurse her.  In fact, I let her get checked over, bathed, etc.  Next thing you know it was time to move to the Mother Baby Unit.  When we arrived there, I had to get assessed, Lily had to get assessed, the doctors came to see both of us, and I had lots of guests.  These are all very nice and necessary things, but I did not know that waiting to feed my baby until after all of them happened would be setting me up for such a difficult road ahead.  I had no idea what I was doing trying to feed her and Lily had no idea either.  There were many nice nurses that worked with us for literally hours the day she was born, but we just weren't catching on…  I remember thinking why did God let breastfeeding be so difficult?  Isn't it supposed to come natural?  It was anything but.  I was worried her sugar would drop too low, so the night she was born I fed her a tiny bit of formula.  We kept trying, she just couldn't latch.  I pumped colostrum and gave it to her in a syringe.  I was discouraged, but never gave up.  Finally, the nurse gave us a nipple shield to try and she got it!!!!  I thought we had hit the jackpot!  We were set!  We made it home and things were going pretty good.  It was still taking her almost an hour to eat and that was every 2-3 hours…  The nipple shield was annoying, but whatever, she was eating.  That is what mattered most.

A few days after she was born, I decided to try out the breast pump.  I pumped for the first time.  It went pretty good.  It took me about ten minutes to pump and then Chris got to feed her the bottle for the first time.  And that little booger gobbled that bottle down in less than ten minutes!!!  It took me a whole hour to feed her sometimes and she just ate that darn bottle in ten minutes!!!!!  Again, if you know me well, I'm very into time management and this just wasn't cool.  So, after a few days of pumping here and there, I decided I wanted to be an "exclusive pumper."  I figured I could pump in ten minutes, feed her in ten minutes and be done!  Now that is good time management.  So I went to Best Start Parenting and bought everything I would need to do this for the year I was planning on doing it for.  The nice lady there tried her best to talk me out of it, but I of course was not in the mood to listen.  She encouraged me to keep trying to nurse, that it would work out!  But, I had my mind set. So I went home and got started.  I pumped every three hours for almost two weeks.  After this "little" amount of time I was already fed up with it and ready to shoot myself.  This sucked!  Then, my good friend Elizabeth encouraged me to try again with the nursing.  So I went to Target and bought another nipple shield.  It worked, she nursed again!  Now she was bigger and stronger and it was working.  I was even able to wean her from the shield!

The story isn't over yet…. now without the shield, things got bad…ugly!!  I won't go into too many details but just think these two words- cracked and bleeding.  And the pain- I can honestly say it was worse then my pain med free labor and delivery.  Luckily it was only for about twenty seconds every time she would start to eat.  If you have ever tried to nurse and didn't have a baby with the right kind of latch you know what I mean.  Well, after another few weeks of walking around topless and hoping that air and neosporin would heal me between the feedings, it happened- things started getting better!!!  Finally!!  I was nursing my baby when she was hungry- she was getting food and it didn't hurt me!!!!  And, it was only taking her about 20 minutes to eat!!!

So, that was the beginning of fourteen beautiful months of nursing my baby girl.  While beautiful, like I said, it was definitely not always smiles.  The pumping at work and whenever I needed to be away from her during the day was not always fun.  In fact, it did pretty much suck a lot of the time.  But, in the end it was all worth it.  Things also got rough when her top teeth came in- just use your imagination.  But again, it all worked out.  For awhile I was counting down until her first birthday so I could be done.  I was so over it.  The week of her birthday I began to wean her.  Then the night before she turned one I turned into an anxious, emotional, ball of nerves.  I really didn't know why at first.  Then, I realized it was because our special bonding time was almost over.  So, after all that I decided that we both weren't quite done yet.  So for a couple more months I continued to nurse her.

It was quite a roller coaster ride that I know that some people can relate to.  I wouldn't change it though.    When Caleb was born, I never considered not nursing him.  I educated myself on how to make it work easier so that I wouldn't go through what I went through in the beginning with Lily.  I nursed him when he was only minutes old.  He latched on right away and ate, and ate, and ate.  He still eats a ton!  I was sore with him also, but not as much, and it got better fast.  Overall, it has been a breeze this time around.

So, I want to leave you with this.  While breastfeeding is HARD work, it pays off in so many ways.  Here are just a few of the many reasons that scientifically prove that "Breast is Best."

1.  Most importantly- better for baby!  Not only does it provide the perfect balance of nutrients, it provides very important immunities against many common childhood illnesses- GI bugs, ear infections, respiratory infections, etc.  It decreases the chance of developing allergies, lowers risk of obesity and related diseases, and may lower the risk of SIDS.  These are a few among the many advantages to the baby.
2.  Decreases the mother's risk of breast and ovarian cancers, as well as the risk of postpartum depression.  Also, another favorite reason for me is that it is a great way to lose that baby weight!!  Breastfeeding burns about 500 extra calories a day!
3.  It's FREE!!!!  You will need to buy a pump and other supplies if you work, but it is still much cheaper than a year's worth of expensive formula!!!
4.  The milk is with you wherever you go!  No need for making bottles in the middle of the night, just pull out the boob and you are set.  I admit nursing in public can be tricky and overwhelming at times, but there are ways to get around it if you are creative.
5.  If you hate having your period, you probably won't get it back for at least several months, maybe not until you stop breastfeeding.
6.  It makes for great birth control for at least the first six months, as long as you don't supplement.

If you do a google search you will find even more reasons.  There really are a ton!

Thanks for reading my story.  It is very personal, but I think it is important to share my struggles and triumphs so that it might help someone else decide that it is worth it.  I would tell everyone to give it at least six weeks before giving up.  I know that pointing out all the hard times might not help my intention to promote breastfeeding, but I did not want to make it seem like it is always easy.  There are many resources out there to help as well.  Lactation Consultants are great, I probably should have called one! I've heard tons of people say that it is hard, but not one that I can remember saying they regretted in the end.