Before I write this post I just want everyone to know this isn’t some rant about what’s been going on in the news about breastfeeding or a response to the Time’s article. This is just an expression of gratitude and awe about how a woman’s body is created.
One of my favorite parts of early motherhood is being able to breastfeed. My mom nursed all of my siblings so the idea of breastfeeding was a natural one and I never assumed I’d do anything but that. While I was pregnant with Avery and researching everything about pregnancy, breastfeeding, infant care and postpartum I found myself a little worried by all the statistics and horror stories. I hoped and prayed I’d be able to breastfeed but couldn’t help the anxiety in the back of my mind.
After a few months of this I decided not to let it get to me. I was determined to make breastfeeding work and looking back at the history of all mankind it didn’t seem likely that I wouldn’t be able to do it. Our population has done nothing but grow and I can tell you right now, they didn’t have powder formula a thousand years ago.
Breastmilk is more than just food for our babies, it’s loaded with the mother’s antibodies to protect the baby until their immune system develops, it has all the vitamins and minerals the baby needs to grow brain cells, bones and promote muscular health, it has the perfect fat/calorie ratio and cannot be even remotely replaced with any substitute.
I researched other substances in case I’d need to supplement or if my milk didn’t come properly at first and found that formula wasn’t the top option. Even coconut milk had a healthier make up!
However, my body pulled through for me and Avery latched within a minute of birth and we had an incredible fifteen months of nursing. At that point my pregnant body gave the infant I was growing precedence and I lost my milk supply.
The miracle of pregnancy is already so mind blowing but producing milk is similarly incredible. The way the hormones ebb and flow to create the perfect cocktail to turn on the milk supply after birth, and to sustain and maintain it as the baby grows and needs more is something that no medically formulated supplement could imagine coming close to. The complexities run deeper than the actual production and nutrients though.
A special thing happens when a mother is able to fully sustain her baby on breastmilk, mainly, the bonding. Nursing releases oxytocin, the love hormone, and the incredible sense of happiness, fulfillment and pure, unconditional love is something that is impossible to describe. It’s the thing that made me crave nursing so badly during the five months between when Avery stopped nursing and Eli was born. I know that when all my kids are past that stage I will truly miss it. Obviously the freedom that comes with not having to be constantly available to a baby/toddler is nice but there is nothing like supplying your child with your own life source.
There is a responsibility to nursing though, that involves commitment on several levels. The first level is being constant availability. If this means wearing a v-neck shirt and no bra for two months, so be it. If it means you have to take your infant everywhere with you because they have to eat every hour, so be it. If it means you have to live without sleep for a while, so be it. You can’t skimp on this one at all.
The next level is nutrition. In order for you to maintain your milk supply and stay healthy yourself you need to eat the proper diet. Whole foods, lots of fruits and veggies and healthy fats. I struggle most with this one. I tend to eat inconsistently during the day and find it very hard to incorporate healthy fats. Something I definitely need to work on.
The third level is lifestyle sacrifice. Most women who choose to exclusively breastfeed sacrifice greatly in many areas of their lives. In this country many work places don’t support women who need to pump frequently and breastfeeding in public is very looked down on and discriminated against. There is always the smaller sacrifices like avoiding alcohol and cold medicine as well. I was able to avoid the issues with work places by becoming a stay at home mom but because of that, there were also financial sacrifices that come with going from a two income home to a one income home. I don’t regret that decision in the least and would rather live super frugally while raising my kids than make more money to let someone else care for them during the day.
As I look down at my snuggly little boy, who is still latched but in a sleepy milk coma I can’t help but hope that every mother can experience this.
I do know that there are women who suffer one or another complication that keeps them from being able to breastfeed despite determination and desire and it makes me wish more of us blessed with plenty of milk would support them. I have had the honor of donating milk to a friend who adopted an infant and I will begin pumping soon (once my supply regulates) and hope to be able to contribute to someone in need.
And so those are just some thoughts on my mind during this beautiful time of nearly constantly feeding my newborn:)
Edit: I couldn’t find any decent photos of me nursing so I’m afraid this will be a picture-less post!
Question: What are your thoughts on breastfeeding?
breast is best! nursing makes me so happy, such a special time.
Simply put, breastfeeding is one of my favorite parts of being a mom. I long for every mom to get to experience it the way I have. The transition to motherhood was a very difficult one and if I did not have breastfeeding it would have been so much harder.
) And a few days in we became a success story! 9 months later we are still going strong and it would appear that both parties have no intention of quitting anytime soon. 
)
I was a little nervous about BF during pregnancy, hoping it would work out, but I decided to take the approach that I had no other option. While Satchel would get frustrated in those early days, learning to latch, I would tell him, “We have to figure this out, Mommy didn’t budget for formula.”
I am very grateful to have a workplace that provides a lactation room, with a hospital grade pump, and the time to pump as needed-I pump 3 times per day. As much as I despise pumping, I do it faithfully 15 times per week. I like to say I pump to support my breatsfeeding habit.
I also love the comforting aspect of nursing. Its nice to be able to calm him when he is hurt or upset.
I could go on and on, but I guess I have made myself clear-I love breastfeeding!
i had breast reduction surgery at 18 years old and one of the risks is the inability to breastfeed later in life. sadly, i did end up with one breast that really really struggles to maintain an adequate supply, but i do feel that the other was mostly able to keep up. nursing sessions were generally long and drawn out in order for my daugher to get satiated, but it happened! i was just sooo thankful to be able to nurse at all. i breastfed my daughter until nearly six months when she decided she was done with me (heartache!). i am hoping to be able to nurse our son for just as long, ideally longer. it is such a fulfilling part of the new mother role. as i said, i felt deeply grateful that i was able to nurse at all as there were nearly ten years between the surgery and my daughter being born that i had to wonder if, when the time came, i would be able to nourish my child from the breast at all. it’s a beautiful exprience. it’s amazing the perfection of it all. the physical, emotional and physical benefits that it provides for both mama and child.
Wow! Kudos to you for persevering through hardship! I know a couple ladies who experienced similar things….breast reduction and nursing that is. For the most part it really did work out and I’m glad to hear you were able to get so much breastfeeding in with only one side. Seriously, my hat off to you. You’re amazing.
I thoroughly fit into the “researching everything about pregnancy, breastfeeding, infant care and postpartum I found myself a little worried by all the statistics and horror stories. I hoped and prayed I’d be able to breastfeed but couldn’t help the anxiety in the back of my mind” category. I plan to work very hard to establish and maintain breastfeeding. I truly believe it is the best option and I want to make it work. That being said I’m pretty scared. Books like the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” are helpful and supportive but I can’t help but wonder why so many give up so soon. Could it really be that bad? My mind has spent a lot of time jumping between what I know is natural and works in the vast majority of other animals and what I fear based on so many women’s accounts of breastfeeding.
You can do it! The way I see that feeling of ‘knowing all mankind did it for all of time’ is that it’s our animal instinct.
I think a lot of women give up in the first couple weeks before the soreness goes away because they think it might be like that forever or if they have any struggle and don’t find the support they need. I knew a lady who didn’t even try breastfeeding because she knew she’d be going to back to work.
Oh, a quick tip for you…soreness lasts between 3-6wks and using lanolin will help with it beyond words. Get yourself a tube of lanolin and you’ll be good! Just apply after each feeding. You got this girl.
Such a lovely post. I had such trying times attempting to nurse Molly and after giving it everything we both had, my milk supply gave out at 6 weeks. It still makes me sad to think I had to stop. I get a little teary eyed reading and seeing other Moms successfully breastfeeding. So happy for you that it has been so great!
Hoping that for baby #2 we will have a much better experience.
So proud of you for trying so hard. I know it’s really difficult for moms who want to nurse but struggle. Don’t give up hope for consecutive children though! I have a friend who had a condition that prevented her from successfully nursing both her first two children (she went to 29 specialist!!), but magically, her milk came in for the third and she was able to nurse him magically.
This is a beautiful post- thanks for sharing your thoughts. So glad things are going so well with your family!
I am lucky enough to still be nursing Lula at 8 months and I plan on continuing until she decides she’s done…probably not nursing her until she’s 4 though…:) I love the book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and one of the things I really liked that helped me decide to let her nurse until she wanted to stop (I’m paraphrasing here) was that once weaned, one of the tried and true methods of calming and comforting your child would be gone. I thought that was well said and I am grateful I am in a position to allow her to determine that for herself.
That is a great concept. A few months after my son stopped nursing he had a couple seizures and I can’t tell you how much I wished I could comfort nurse him. I even tried…..but he didn’t know what I was talking about! Not like I had anything but pregnancy colostrum but still:)
So glad you’re enjoying your breastfeeding journey so far.
I definitely wanted to BF but heard so many horror stories that I decided I wouldn’t be heartbroken if it didn’t work out. Well it worked out too well because now I can’t seem to figure out how to quit. It is a good problem to have!
Man, I long for a positive breastfeeding experience. 5 and a half weeks in and it’s still painful for me. And no one can figure out why. Andrick is gaining really well and I want it to work so badly so I’m sticking with it. But I am definitely envious of those who love it!
Amen Diana! My mum is a lactation consultant so I have been raised to be all about breast feeding!! This is a great post.
Sara-Have you ruled out a bad latch or thrush? If so, I still wouldn’t worry too much, I’ve had friends whose soreness didn’t start decreasing until after six weeks.
Do you use lanolin after each feeding on your nipples? That helps me a lot!