Why I Breastfeed

I have a family member who is against breastfeeding. His mother is against it, so I don't really blame him. However he has tried to express to me that he doesn't think anyone (including me) should do it. Or that we should at least "just put it in a bottle". As usual, in the moment I didn't express myself as well as I wanted, and as I think it's an important topic, that bothers me. So this is for him, and anyone else who needs to hear it, but mostly for myself. Because I need to learn to express what is important to me, and not act apathetic when in fact I am not.

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     So this is going to be long and you are going to think I am crazy. But I have not been able to stop thinking about this. I have to tell you that it’s a fact that the longer you breastfeed the better it is for your baby, especially within the first year.

     Health-wise it is recommended to breastfeed for at least a year, though sadly most American mothers feel accomplished if they make it to six months.  A baby younger than a year still needs milk as a main nutrition source, so if you stop before then you need to supplement with formula anyways, which is 50 times less healthy, and super expensive. Honestly if I wasn’t nursing I don’t know how I would afford to feed my baby.

     Breast milk is proven to have live cells and anti-bodies, and provides major immune support and development. Breastfed babies get sick much less, even years afterward. Studies prove that nursing is a natural pain relief. It helps the brain develop, it protects against cancer and obesity. There is stuff in breast milk that they haven’t even identified yet. On top of all the health benefits, it provides comfort and security, and helps with bonding; all things which are very important in the first three years especially.

     For the mother the longer she breastfeeds the better protection she has against breast cancer and ovarian cancer. It helps with maintaining a healthy weight, and when done right is even a natural birth control ;) It also creates a special bond that only a mother can have to her baby, which I treasure as a gift from God as reward for how hard it is to be a mother. Also it feels good and just makes me happy. And I have never felt more confident and proud of my body.

     We talked about the inconvenience of pumping, storing, and carrying milk everywhere. Not to mention preparing a bottle while dealing with a hungry impatient baby. It’s so much easier, not to mention more natural, to simply nurse my hungry baby. It is certainly easier for you to just turn your head the other way.

     Also, babies can control the flow of milk when nursing, which is healthier. You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby, which makes it a great tool to just calm them down or put them to sleep. And bottles give more tummy aches. Plus pumping makes me feel like a cow. To me that is what feels unnatural.

     I don’t flash the entire room or anything. I can be so discreet you barely know what I am doing, unless the baby is so hungry that he is causing a scene, which is what happens when I wait because I am embarrassed to do it in a certain situation.  I actually have fed him without anyone noticing. I don’t think I should have to hide in another room, or a bathroom (gross) and act like what I am doing is shameful when really it is natural and right and good. Whenever I have done that it has made me feel bad and I have regretted it.

     To me, walking past Victoria’s Secret in the mall is embarrassing. That is the truly shameful, unnatural and wrong way to use and view the female body. That is not the way God wants his daughters to be seen. Breastfeeding is something that He obviously does want. Sorry, but boobs were made for babies, not for men. To think otherwise is immature, selfish, and frankly offensive.

     Obviously you can think what you want. But so can I. And nature, the law, and my baby are on my side so there is no way I am quitting something so important to me because someone else doesn’t get it.

     If you are interested, here is a good resource. http://www.llli.org/nb/nbbenefits.html

They are the world experts on breastfeeding. Hospitals and The World Health Organization support them. I read their book when I was pregnant and still use it for help and support.

Sorry for being blunt! I hope we are still friends and that I didn't embarrass you too much. J Say “hi” to your lovely wife for me. She’s a great woman!

Tiff