Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

When I decided to breastfeed my first child to be honest, nutrition was not a determining factor. In fact, it was probably the last thing on my mind. Of course with my mother having breastfed me I was already ok with the concept of breastfeeding and was planning to give it a try. When my son arrived one of the first things I did with him was to place him at the breast and let him nurse.

The first thing I had in mind was actually the benefit of passing my antibodies on to my baby. Having been exposed to many viruses over the years I wanted to give the benefits of those experiences to my son so that he would not have to put up with those kinds of illnesses in his early years.

Interestingly the effort was very successful. My son was (and is) one of the healthiest kids I know. When he was only a few months old I got quite sick with a nasty flu virus. I had a high fever and was sick for a full week. I was visiting my relatives, so my mother-in-law took my son and gave him a bottle every-other feeding. I nursed him the rest of the time. Amazingly my son did nothing more than cough once or twice and never showed any signs of illness. The rest of the house became sick shortly after I got better.

Another benefit is that I don’t have to worry about bottles. When going out around town my diaper bag is quite compact and if I stay out longer than anticipated, no problem – I am fully stocked! My motto was “have baby – will travel”. Nursing in public was accomplished with a receiving blanket over my shoulder and a reasonably quiet space out of the way. After a few times it was nothing to me to feed my son. Now with my daughter breastfeeding I don’t even think twice. If she is hungry it is time for her to eat.

At night it is great. I don’t need to worry about mixing up formula or warming a bottle. Everything is ready to go the moment the baby cries. There’s no clean-up either – just pop it back into my bra and everything’s finished.

Of course there are some disadvantages. Leakage is an issue, so breastpads are a must. Also, because babies eat so often it is hard to get away for long and overnights away just don’t happen. Breastfed babies tend to have very wet poppy diapers and they have a higher tendency to “explode” leaving pants, shirts and parental clothing a mess at times. Fortunately breastfed babies’ poops are not as smelly as formula fed ones so it isn’t too nasty.

Another thing to consider is that the food you eat can pass into your milk. With my son I couldn’t eat flax seed. Every time I did he became quite colicky. The usually grow out of these sensitivities after a few months. You can go out and have the odd drink, but it isn’t a good idea to get plastered. If for some reason you do drink too much you might want to drain off some milk for a bit and use a bottle for you baby until you sober up.

There are options to solve the frequent feedings problem. If you invest in a decent breast pump you can pump milk to offer your baby from a bottle. As long as you know your baby will accept the bottle you can head out on the town for a little fun.

But I have left the best to last. The most wonderful part of breastfeeding is the bond it gives you to your baby. There is nothing quite as satisfying as watching you little one nurse. As babies get older the actively anticipate getting fed and watch you as they eat. My daughter actually starts to laugh and giggle when it is feeding time as she loves nursing so much.

I am so thankful that I have been able to breastfeed my babies. There are so many benefits for them, even when you don’t consider nutrition. On top of that the benefits for me are priceless.