Choices I've Made as a Mother: Breastfeeding

It was very important to me that I do everything within my power to exclusively breastfeed Addisyn for at least the first year.  I spent a lot of my pregnancy listening to various podcasts about pregnancy and being a new mother, and gained a wealth of knowledge about breastfeeding from the plethora of lactation consultants I heard on said podcasts.  First off, breastfeeding is great for recovering from childbirth itself as it causes the uterus to contract which helps to close off the blood vessels where the placenta was attached to the uterus, it also allows the uterus to shrink back to normal size more quickly.  Breastfeeding also helps with mother-baby bonding.  Breastfed babies are generally healthier than formula fed babies - they experience fewer diarrheal illnesses and fewer colds.  One of my podcasts mentioned a statistic (and I'm sorry, I'm not sure of the source and because I'm trying to type this during Addisyn's nap I don't feel I have time to track it down) about the number of breastfed versus formula-fed babies that are hospitalized.  For babies over the age of 4 months that were hospitalized due to an illness for every 1 breastfed baby there are 10 formula-fed babies.  For babies under the age of 4 months for every 1 breastfed baby there are 15 formula fed babies.  That's crazy!!!

Aside from the health aspect, there are numerous convenience reasons for breastfeeding.  1) You save a ton of money!  2) You don't have to pack as much in the diaper bag when you go out.  3) Breastfed baby poop really doesn't have a very strong odor, and it really doesn't stink.  4)  Breastfed babies typically don't have many issues with reflux.  5)  Breastfed babies have fewer problems with diaper rash.  6)  Breastfed baby poop is completely water soluble, and therefore easier to clean up.  These are only a handful of the convenience benefits.

Some people will tell you that formula fed babies sleep better, and it's really not that they sleep any better, they just tend to sleep longer sooner because they don't need to eat as often as breastfed babies do.  Breastfed babies need to eat more frequently because breastmilk is much easier (and therefore much quicker) to digest than formula.  A molecule of formula is actually 10 times the size of a molecule of breastmilk!

Breastfeeding does, of course, come with its challenges.  Breastfeeding is a natural thing, but not something that moms and babies automatically know how to do, so there is a learning curve.  Probably for most women breastfeeding is painful for the first couple of weeks while they adjust to it and learn proper latch and positioning of the baby.  Many women who don't have it set in their minds that they will breastfeed exclusively, or decide that the will "try"to breastfeed give up because of the discomfort or the inconvenience of having to feed frequently.  Our biggest challenge so far has been Addisyn's milk protein intolerance.  Lots of people think that a breastfeeding mama who eats spicy foods will cause her baby some kind of stomach upset, but this is really not the case.  Dairy products however frequently cause problems for babies...  If the mother eats too much dairy any baby is apt to have some sort of digestive discomfort or irritation because the proteins found in cow's milk are difficult to digest, especially for young babies whose digestive systems aren't fully developed.  For some babies (like Addisyn) even small amounts of milk will irritate the digestive system, as a result I have had to eliminate dairy and soy (50% of babies with a milk intolerance also have a soy intolerance) from my diet, but it is SO worth it!  Since giving up dairy I've had a few people with questions about my milk quality with no dairy in my diet.  My response (which I heard in one of my podcasts): "you don't have to drink milk to make milk!"  Think about it, cows (and any other animals) who are making milk for their offspring, or even for us to drink aren't drinking milk themselves.  I just have to be sure to get my daily calcium from other sources, and as with all breastfeeding mothers drink plenty of water and eat a varied, balanced diet.