Hey Mama and Mama to Be! My niece recently asked why I decided to breastfeed and I thought I’d share my response with you too. Amongst other things, the bond, the bond, the bond! Oh my goodness. It’s truly indescribable and has been one of my favorite things about Motherhood. Other reasons include:
🤱🏽 It’s FREE and I like free stuff 🙃
🤱🏽 The shortage during the pandemic was TERRIFYING to me.
🤱🏽 To be really honest, I was just trying something 🤣 I’ve always been the type to do things just because it hasn’t been done. I never seen anyone in my family BF and while I heard all the horror stories about BF and latching, not once did anyone rave about the amazing benefits of BF 🙁 like:
🤱🏽 Breast milk helps protect newborns from infection and other diseases by delivering immune-boosting antibodies, white blood cells and immune factors.
🤱🏽 Breastfeeding plays an important role in the development of a baby’s brain and IQ.
🤱🏽 The skin-to-skin contact that occurs during breastfeeding promotes a baby’s sensory and emotional development.
🤱🏽 Breastfeeding benefits a nursing mother, reducing her risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.
🤱🏽 My body was made for this! Rather it was for 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months, I was gonna be proud for trying. And let me tell you, on day 3?? I was like FORGET. THIS!! It’s too much work!! 😩 But when I tried formula, she had an allergic reaction and that was ALL I needed to keep going! I stuck with it and never second guessed it – no matter how hard and tiring it became. And still to this day, it is literally the highlight of my day 🥺 (especially when we dream feed! It’s amazing that she knows my scent and knows it’s time to nurse in those pitch black, late night hours). 💕
We’re 9 months in and do I still love it? Yes. But am I ready to be done?? YES! Lol. We’re doing solids consistently now so she only nurses maybe 2-3 times during the day but 2-3 times overnight and that’s the part I’m really over 🥴.
Here’s the pump I chose: Elvie Breast Pumps
I honestly love this pump because it’s cordless, bluetooth capable, an app on my phone and I can discreetly pump at home or in public. I just finished a pump session while writing this at Starbucks (hehe!). However, the pumps started tweaking at month 6 where some days it just wouldn’t suction/release milk from my breasts and that was the WORSE, most frustrating feeling!! But fret not 😏, Elvie will replace each pump part that is no longer working at no cost to you! They’ll just need proof of payment before shipping.
Bottles can be tricky. Here are the bottles that CZN uses/used:
Tommee Tippee (we started using this one first, then she woke up one day and wouldn’t drink from it lol)
Philips Avent (this has been a winner since about 4 months)
FREE Lactation Support!!!
GBMC offers a telephone “Warmline” (443-849-3428) from 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Breastfeeding related questions and advice are offered at no fee. The Warmline receives more than 8,000 breastfeeding related calls per year. They deal with questions on a wide variety of issues, such as medication while breastfeeding, returning to work, and weaning. Outpatient lactation consultations are offered for a fee, with an appointment made in advance.
Helpful resources:
Bridget Teyler on YouTube
HUIGE REMINDER: Whether you breast feed, exclusively pump or give formula, your baby is EATING and healthy and that’s all that matters! 👩🏽🍼 SO GREAT JOB, MAMA!
Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.