Breastfeeding

I have once again gotten comments about how I am "STILL breastfeeding my baby"?!?!  STILL??  Of course, he is seven years old and in elementary school......oh, no--wait!  He's FIVE MONTHS OLD.  Perhaps I am one of the only mothers on the planet that hasn't figured out how to feed steak and mashed potatoes (well, tofu and veggies) to a toothless five month old.  Someone will have to help me out here and explain how they have their infants off formula or breastmilk.  I suppose I shouldn't tell people that I nursed my last baby past 18 month.  Yep, that's right.  He had a full mouth of teeth, was walking and talking (sort of), and we were both completely happy. 

Ok, seriously.  It floors me that people seem to think you are supposed to nurse your baby for three months or less and then pat yourself on the back for doing your job.  I understand that is doesn't work out for some women or that some women decide not to do it at all.  I agree that something is better than nothing.  I do not understand those women that nurse their baby 6 or 8 weeks or three months and decide they have done their job and quit.  Why?  The beginning is the rough part.  Your milk supply is all over the place, you leak, the kid is goofy and it takes forever to feed that newborn.  Every two hours or so you are sitting down to feed a baby for 20+ minutes.  Oh, yeah and it hurts.  I get it. 

What I also get is what most people don't:  after the first three months or so is the best!  The baby is great at latching on, and it doesn't hurt at all anymore.  Your milk supply regulates, and feeding is super quick.  My five month old can "fill up" in about 8 minutes every 3 or 4 hours.  No bottles, no mess, no work.  Once every three and half hours, I pop him on a boob, switch, and am about done.  I think it is the best and laziest thing I have ever decided to do!  Another perk is that it gets easier with each kid.  You know what you are doing and that makes it simpler and get to the "easy part" much quicker.  No, it is not always perfect and yes, it takes work.  So does being married and raising children and pretty much everything else in life.  You don't have to take it to the point that I do where the child goes from breast to table food and a sippee cup.  I'm not even a baby food fan.  It's expensive, time consuming (especially if you opt to make your own) and not all that necessary.  They didn't have food processors a hundred years ago.  Seriously.  I nurse my babies and start throwing soft, mushy table food at them around 6 or 7 months old and give them a sippee cup to play with.  By about a year, they are good at table food and the cup and I start to slowly wean.  It's simple, easy, and a whole lot cheaper.  

Here is some further information from an article titled "Why Should You Breastfeed?" by a physician:

Contrary to popular opinion, there are few reasons why an infant cannot be breast fed. Breast milk is the preferred source of nutrition for all infants through the first six months of life, and most experts recommend breastfeeding an infant for at least the first year.

Babies who are exclusively formula-fed have a higher incidence of health problems than do infants who are breastfed. Surprisingly, in the US, exclusively formula-fed infants have a 21 percent higher mortality rate.

The Department of Health and Human Services, through its Healthy People 2010 initiative, has established the following goals for breastfeeding: 75 percent of all US mothers will attempt breastfeeding beginning at birth, 50 percent will continue breastfeeding through the first six months, and 25 percent will continue breastfeeding for one year after birth.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Human milk is designed for human infants and is nutritionally superior to formulas. Through observational and clinical studies, breastfeeding has been strongly correlated with multiple health benefits for infants and mothers:

Immunologic Support and Disease Prevention

• Decreased risk of bacterial meningitis, sepsis, diarrhea, otitis media, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, asthma, Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, sudden infant death syndrome, and diabetes (Types 1 and 2)

Developmental

• Improved outcomes for premature infants

Psychological

• Analgesic or comforting effects during painful procedures

Maternal Health

• Mothers who breastfeed experience decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, reduced postpartum bleeding, and earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight

Economic

• A projected $3.5 billion reduction in annual health care costs, including reduced hospitalization costs, public supplementation programs (such as WIC), and direct patient costs

Environmental

• Reduction in disposal of cans and bottles in public landfill sites

Here are some website about breastfeeding:   

www.kellymom.com

www.llli.org

www.breastfeeding.com

So, I would ask anyone pregnant or with a baby to challenge popular opinion and nurse beyond the first three months.  (Be even crazier still and nurse your toddler!)  And for those of you with older children or no children at all, stop asking the mothers of infants if they are STILL nursing their baby.  Applaud instead. 

--EM!   

Comments

[Amber]

I love kellymom.com! It has helped me many a time. I read somewhere (sorry I don't have the source) that most babies are not ready to self-wean until 18 months. When I first started, I thought a year would surely be long enough. But my baby wasn't ready, and you are right, it was SO EASY at that point. We stopped at 17 months 1 week after a long slowing down of nursing! It was the perfect time for us--and actually I didn't know the end was near until it was just about over.

The best advice I ever read and kept me going through the first months (I was engorged for two months, sleeping with two heavy "bricks" at night--ouch!) was that it would definitely get better. I was very committed to nursing no matter what the pain, but it was hard in the beginning. I could see why some people would give up if they didn't have support and success. Once my supply was in balance with the demand, there was no stopping us!

I guess I just want the very best for my child, like most parents, and breastmilk is the very best food. And it's free! Not to mention the bonding that takes place. And no bottles to wash (unless you pump and my sincerest applause to those who do that. That a whole 'nother category of superwoman!)

[Environmental Mama]

I agree, the beginning stinks. Although, with subsequent children, it isn't so bad. Your body does this whole, "oh, I know how to do this" thing and settles in much faster. And I also think women who pump regularly are awesome because I hate pumping!

EM

[Amy]

Pumping is the only reason we stopped at six months instead of continuing . . . the plan is that I'll not work with any future babies, so am hoping that will help us get over the six month hump! Kudos to you, EM!!