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It all began very naturally for me. I planned to breastfeed, but really did zero research and had close to zero conversations with anyone about it. An hour after my first daughter was born, my sister asked me, have you tried to nurse yet? I said, no, and then did. Somehow, instinctively, my baby showed me the way. She latched right on and nursed from that point straight to her first birthday. One whole month after her birthday party, we were surprised and blessed with getting pregnant with baby number two. Once baby two was born, again I nursed her as soon as possible after her birth and she is still nursing to this day.
Ladies, I’m not gonna’ lie. It is a lot of work. It is probably the biggest commitment you can make to yourself and to your child. But, really, it is the most magical experience. While you may sometimes feel overwhelmed because you are the only person responsible for feeding your baby, you will also feel so lucky that you are the only person who can feed your baby. You are solely responsible for giving this baby life and power, strength and health. I’ve been doubled over with a stomach virus and nursed through it, and magically baby doesn’t get sick. If you’re stuck on a bus for hours in traffic and didn’t bring all your supplies, you have all the food you need for her right there. In the middle of the night you can just hold your baby and rest as she nurses instead of walking to the kitchen to fix a bottle. With my second baby, feeding her away from the chaos of my family life became the most amazing and much needed “alone” time for me. I could check my emails, read the news on my phone, write a blog entry, nap…
I know, because I have sisters and friends close to me who have each had different experiences that not everyone has as easy of a time with breastfeeding. Supply, pain, work, illness, a baby in the NICU, can all get in the way of your success and confidence. I truly believe there should never be any pressure to breastfeed, or for any specific duration, because each mother’s life circumstance is completely different. For one, there is zero support for breastfeeding mothers in the workforce. I don’t want to get too political here, but six weeks maternity leave is barely enough time to establish a routine and supply, much less the ability to pump every two hours at work* on no sleep (*public restroom, fitting room, janitor’s closet, cubicle, break room). If America really wants women to breastfeed, especially the lower income bracket, which they are clearly targeting via all the State sponsored television ads of late. Provide mothers with government mandated and supported leave. More than just the six weeks that our insurance companies allot for our vagina’s to heal. (For those of us who are lucky enough to be insured, that is.) That’s all I’m going to say about that.
Breastfeeding is magnificent. It is pure happiness on the faces of your children. It is health. It is love. If you can do it, you should do it. If you tried and couldn’t keep it up, don’t beat yourself up about it. When I got pregnant with my first daughter, my mother unknowingly gave me the greatest gift she ever could have. She gave me the calendar she kept during the time that she breastfed me. Days upon days of the minutes and hours she fed me catalogued, along with any especially interesting poops or milestones of the day, showed me that what I was about to do was not going to be easy. It was more likely going to be the hardest work I will ever do. But clearly, by what my mother had transcribed, it was to be the most rewarding and love-filled work I will ever do. And it has been. 100%.
Thanks so much for sharing and I hope these stories are helping you as much as they are me!
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