Definition: Me and Luke tucked into bed together, nursing and snuggling through a long, fat nap. (Like, two and half hours long. It’s that good.)
Oh yes, it is one of my favorite things about nursing my babies, the Nap ‘n Nurse. They sleep longer. I sleep longer. They are so cuddly. And, when they are latched on to nurse, even the ringing phone doesn’t wake them (usually). It’s fabulous.
It’s especially fabulous on a Sunday afternoon following a very sketchy Saturday night of “sleep” – you know, one of those nights where there is more waking than sleeping. (If you don’t know, good for you and aren’t you special?)
So ladies, when you decide to nurse your babies, make it a priority to learn how to nurse in the side-lying position. It’s a bit tricky at first, but it’s worth practicing. I promise.
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, so I couldn’t let it get by without a post about nursing.
Why else is nursing good for me? I’m glad you asked!
1. It’s readily available whenever I need it. There’s always more, and it doesn’t require any preparation. I don’t have to worry about forgetting the milk, or the bottle, or the bottle liner, or the cup, or the lunch because I’m carrying all that with me all the time.
2. It gives me a perfect reason to sit on my boohonkus. And to nap.
3. It burns 600ish extra calories a day. You know that extra fat you gain around your butt and thighs while you’re pregnant? Yeah, that’s especially designed to store energy for making milk. If you don’t make the milk? I guess you get to keep the butt. (Seriously, this is the smallest my butt has ever been. Ever.)
4. It makes taking care of a sick baby so much easier. Throwing up? Nurse. Stuffy nose? Saline drops, then nurse. It makes the duration of the illness shorter, too.
5. It empowers me.
Why did I choose breastmilk over formula? I’m glad you asked!
1. It’s the best. Hands down, no argument, it’s the thing that was made for feeding human babies. No other milk comes anywhere close. Formula has its place (and it’s place is 4th, after feeding from the breast, pumped milk and donor milk), and I won’t judge you if you choose formula, but I feel so passionately about the healing, perfectness of breastmilk that I will give mine away to other babies that need it. In fact, I feel so passionately about it, that I would probably attempt to relactate if anyone in my immediate family was ever diagnosed with a terminal illness.
That’s it. I was going to make a longer list about all the benefits for me and my babies, but that’s been said better and more officially, so I’ll just leave it at this: Breastmilk is best.
It’s not always easy. In fact, the first few couple of weeks can be very hard, but it’s worth the work to get to the other side.
Here are some resources, in case you are looking for information.
The Many Benefits of Breastfeeding
Getting Started
About Formula
And, as I’ve said before, my go-to resource for questions and troubleshooting: Kellymom.
And, finally, I leave with you with a moment in time. I’m so happy to have this picture. It shows so much: one pair at the beginning of the journey, and working hard to find their way; the other nearing the end of theirs. Nothing makes a baby seem to grow up as fast as another new baby.
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| Rebecca and Jake (5 days), Me and Luke (12 months), nursing our babies |
Agree, agree, could not agree more with everything in this post. I nursed Cole for 16 months and only stopped because it was time to resume a medication that is incompatible with breastfeeding. Two months later I was pregnant again, so there went that. But it is so convenient to not have to pack bottles and formula everywhere we go. Breastmilk is always free, always available, and always the right temperature. My baby so rarely got sick, and when he did it was usually from an ear infection. It was also such a wonderful bonding experience. I am very much looking forward to nursing this baby in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I took a breast feeding class and feel more comfortable with the idea. I think I am going to nurse for the first month and switch to pumping. I will see how it goes though, I am trying to keep an open mind. One thing I thought was interesting is that there are only 50 breast milk banks in the US and Canada....I wonder how many sperm banks there are.
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