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Breastfeeding
Whats keeps you going?
Other than knowing its better for the baby? Do you have anything that keeps you going?
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Re: Whats keeps you going?
For me it's changed over the months.
At the very beginning it was knowing that it was best for Drew and also a little bit of plain old stubbornness and pride (I had told people I was planning to BF and gosh darn it I didn't want to quit the first week!!)
In the first 6 weeks what kept me going was knowing that everyone says "It'll get better, you'll be so glad you stayed with it."
Up until 3 or 4 months there were still times I wanted to quit and I promised myself that I wouldn't quit unless things were hard for a whole week. If I wanted to quit on a bad day, I had to wait a whole seven days first. Inevitability, things got better and I would decide to keep going.
Now it's easy to keep going. BFing is so convenient, so simple, and so good for both Drew and me. I love it and I'm so glad that we have a nursing relationship. I'm planning to go for at least a year, and possibly longer. I'm already sad to think about weaning!
1) better for baby
2) better for me (I've lost 38 lbs. since she was born...I had only gained 20 lbs. with the pregnancy so I'm lighter now than I was before I got PG)
3) better for the environment
4) better for our finances
5) BM poo is WAY less stinky than formula poo
...at the end of the day this time as a nursing duo will be very short in the history of our time together as mother and child...so I am embracing it and enjoying it while it lasts (same as pregnancy even though I had my rough days, etc. I knew it was a short time in my life so I took the good, the bad and the ugly as it came)...
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The fact that both of my DDs have gained weight fantastically well from BFing is the biggest thing that has kept me going. DD2 was up 3/4 of a pound over her birth weight by the time she was two weeks old.
WIth DD1, I had a really hard time with nursing, but she was doing so well and gaining so quickly that it was a big motivator for me to keep going, even if the first six weeks sucked for me. :P
Other than that -- the weight loss, the money savings, and the convenience are probably the biggest "pros" that keep me going. I can think of so many other things I'd rather spend money on than formula. :P And it's so darn easy to just unsnap my tank instead of making a bottle.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
At first it was pride that I was just able to stand the pain for his sake....and I knew it would get better. Now, I just absolutely love it....like the pp said, I love that I'm the only one that can feed him, and it's such an amazingly intimate time that no amount of busy-ness in the day can take away from us. I also love the huge smile that he gets on his face when I open my shirt - it is so adorable!
this. There were SO many times I wanted to quit early on, but I didn't see it as a realistic option for me. I had excellent support from my family in the way that they have all breastfed and think of it as the only option.
A repeat of what a lot of people said - I like that I'm the only one that can feed him (other then when he's at daycare and gets a bottle of course - but it's still MY milk feeding him), I love that when I do feed him it's "us time" - I can already see what a huge bond it's created between us, and others have commented on it too which makes me so proud.
I went into it planning on nursing with no other option - I just knew I would do whatever I needed to to give him the best gift a Mommy can give - herself and her breast milk. I knew that if I could AT LEAST get him to 9 months, it would greatly decrease his risk for allergies and such - the health benefits to both of us has been a huge motivator. I gained 62 lbs while pregnant and due to breastfeeding (I can't claim to have worked out other then very mild walking over the summer) I lost all of that weight and then some before Thanksgiving. Plus it's convenient - I don't have to worry about carry anything extra with me in the form of formula mix, water, whatever - it's always prepackaged and ready to go
At this point in time it's just so much easier than formula and bottle feeding. I don't have to make bottles, clean bottles, clean pumping stuff daily, etc. Also, much easier on the finances.
In the beginning it was knowing it was better for her, specifically b.c she has reflux.
That was absolutely beautiful. It actually made me cry. I want to print this up and post it to my fridge! And use it when annoying family member ask me, "oh you're STILL doing that?"
Thank you. I am sorry you're being harrassed. That's awful. I have some good support, although DD has recently refused to take a bottle...so what does my mom suggest? Stop BFing and start FF so that bottles are DDs only option and then she'll have to take them. WTF? I know it's stressful on my mom and DD when I am at work and she screams and won't take a bottle...but really? THIS is the solution. I don't think so. And I won't do it. DH is cup feeding DD and she's taking to it fairly well, so we'll continue with that. Messy? Yes. Not quite as convenient as a bottle. Probably. But it's worth it to us. Thanks mom.
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