Breastfeeding is highly recommended by mothers around the world, and doctors will encourage it immediately after birth. It's a very beautiful, rewarding experience for both mom and baby. The nutrients, vitamins, and antibodies that are given to your baby make it all worth the time and energy a mother puts forth immediately following labor and delivery. The baby will have lower number of illnesses and ear infections if a mom chooses to breastfeed. The health benefits are so great I can't see why any mom wouldn't attempt to breastfeed. Granted it's not something that every woman can do, or even wants to do, but if one is slightly interested it is well worth the try. If a mom has a great supply of milk and wants to feel the closeness, she will find it to be a loving, rewarding, and a wonderful experience in the first weeks and months of her baby's life.
When baby first arrives into the world, it's important to create a bond from the start. Breastfeeding will allow a mom and baby to grow, learn, love, and connect through breastfeeding. Baby will learn immediately who mommy is and what mommy has to offer with her around the clock presence and devotion through breastfeeding. Mom will have a "mommy smell" to her skin that baby will become accustomed to. She'll have a closeness that no one else will know except baby and mommy. A quiet room where a baby can feel calm, love, and a gentle touch with mommy is a special bond no one can know like a breastfeeding mommy. Breastfeeding does have a small hurdle at the start. Moms can get overwhelmed and have the urge to quit because of inexperience, the cracking of nipples, and pain that comes at the start of breastfeeding. If mom can get past that first couple of weeks and be dedicated to baby, it will be well worth the stress that comes with beginning stages of breastfeeding.
Even though breastfeeding is a great way to bond and grow with your baby, there are alternative ways to still give your baby the value of breast milk. If latching becomes a problem, or mom isn't feeling comfortable with baby to breast, an alternative could be pumping. By using your expressed milk your baby is getting all the vitamins, nutrients, and antibodies but receiving your milk through a bottle. I recommend using the Medela pump. It allows you to pump milk simultaneously with both breasts. It has speed options and a travel pack to pump on the go. It even includes a car charger if you are brave enough to pump on the road. I don't recommend doing this unless you are the passenger and have tinted windows.
Pumping your milk also allows fathers, siblings, grandparents, babysitters, and anyone else to feed your baby. This will let you be free to go out and have a day or night to yourself. Value your "ME" time. It's very important for a healthy well-rounded new mom. You will be a better mom if you do get your me time because you will have the time to refresh, renew, and rejuvenate.
Pumping can be done at anytime. It is important to pump when you feel that your breasts are engorged or very full. This will allow you to save milk by freezing in breast milk freezer bags for later use. You can actually use milk frozen up to 6 months past the day you pumped it out. Pumping also allows you to increase your milk supply. Moms that return to work usually pump during the work day and freeze or refrigerate their expressed milk for later use. Pumping in the morning before a morning workout always benefited me. It's not easy to run with full breasts. Pumping at night before bed helps to prevent engorgement in the middle of the night. All in all, pump to save or pump to have a day off. Dads will be thankful to help out and have a bonding experience when bottle feeding their new baby. Anytime you pump your breasts will be ready for the next feeding because they are continuously making milk around the clock.
Research says any amount of breast milk given to your baby is valuable and important. A large amount of women breastfeed up to 1 year of age. Some women only make it two weeks. Whatever you can give is ideal. Many women don't have a stay at home options so they are forced to go back to work and around the clock breastfeeding isn't an easy task. Pumping at work becomes a daily task so mom will not get too engorged during the day. Moms can breastfeed as long as both Mommy and baby are happy. If a mom chooses to breastfeed until age 2 there is nothing wrong or shameful about it. Breastfeeding can be one of the most rewarding things you can do as a mom.
Stopping the breastfeeding process can be challenging. In my experience, the longer I breastfed, the harder it became to wean my baby. The doctor will say to start the weaning process by decreasing the number of times your baby goes to the breast. Pick the easiest time and eliminate that feeding first. Continue to do that from easiest to most challenging. Your baby will learn the new schedule process. It's a hard thing to do, but doing it will make moms free to attend to other things, and eventually baby will need to learn other forms of feeding. By age 4-6 months babies can learn how to drink from a sippy cup, and how other foods taste. The solid foods become more frequent and whole milk plays a big role at age 1. Once breastfeeding becomes frustrating, a fight, or a struggle for you it's times to call it quits.
What do you think? How was your breastfeeding experience?
