the truth about breastfeeding.

Listen up. I'm about to give it to you straight about a topic that has gotten all types of attention throughout history...Breastfeeding. Talking about this may weird a lot of people out, but it's my blog and I'll ramble if I want to! So here we go.

 Let me start by saying that I think that breastfeeding is one of the most miraculous things that God has ever created. The ability to grow and sustain another human life solely on milk produced by a mother's body is nothing short of amazing. I am reminded of this every time I look at my gigantic baby who clearly is getting everything and more that he needs in the food department. Breastfeeding now, after having practiced it for almost 3 months, is so natural and relaxing. Selfishly for me, I treasure the time that I get to spend with Lucas while he is nursing. No matter how crazy the day is or how many people we have in the house, I get to steal him away and just sit and soak in all of his cuteness, just me. I get to stare at him for upwards of 30 minutes with no interruptions! I get to see those long eyelashes start to blink slowly as he drifts into a milk coma. I get to see him pause every so often to offer up a grin. Another selfish reason I think breastfeeding is awesome is for my own health benefit. Did you know that a nursing mom burns at least 500 calories a day just producing breastmilk? I was floored when I learned that! So that baby weight? Gone. And then some. And for Lucas, he is getting the perfect blend of nutrients and fat and antibodies. Everything he needs to grow and develop in a perfect way that is far beyond my control. Another benefit, it's free! Have you seen the cost of infant formula these days? Enough said.

 As wonderful as breastfeeding is now, I will be honest with you...it's hard work. At the beginning, I thought that it would immediately be the most natural and easy thing. Not even close! It was awkward. There were times when I thought I was going to drop Lucas when the lactation consultants were trying to get him into a good position. And in the beginning, ouch! It hurt! We had our fair share of hurdles once we got home. We got to experience a plugged milk duct. Then later, mastitis. It was miserable. I was frustrated. I was exhausted. I was confused at how this was supposed to be 'natural.' I had these weird feelings about pumping, which I had to do early on because of the mastitis and some other issues. I have a Medela "Pump-in-Style" breast pump. What a dumb name for a pump! Now, I love this pump. But there is nothing stylish about being hooked up to a machine that makes you feel like a milking station. I'm just saying. And the sleep...in the middle of the night, when your little baby is hungry, there isn't much daddy can do. Another tough spot for me was the fact that I now hated the way the majority of my clothes fit. I had these 2 new very large accessories that weren't looking so great in my outfits! Petty, I know. All in all, it was a very difficult adjustment at first. But with lots of support and encouragement, we made it over the hurdles and now it's an enjoyable experience.

 We live in a culture today that I think is a bit confused by breastfeeding. Throughout history, breastfeeding has been a 'fad' that seems to come and go. What used to be a natural thing for moms to do that was not perceived as a big deal at all has morphed over time into a beast of an issue. I was reading a few articles online about how breastfeeding has changed in our culture and laughed out loud when I read reference to a group of people called 'lactivists.' It's referring to a group of people who fight for the rights of breastfeeding moms. Do I think these rights are important? Of course! Do I think there needs to be a group named 'lactivists' who staged nurse-ins at places like Applebees and on Delta flights a few years ago in response to poor treatment of nursing moms? Not particularly. While I do think that action needed to take place to stand up for the mom that was kicked off of a Delta flight for breastfeeding and for the mom that was asked to leave Applebees for nursing her baby in a booth, I'm not so sure that 'nurse-ins' are the best choice. Granted, it got their point across, but come on. I just think that people need to quit making such a big deal about it. It's not a 'power to the people' issue.  If a mom wants to modestly nurse her baby in public, let her! Don't think twice about it!  It's a natural act that should just happen with no fuss. Did you see the recent cover of Time Magazine? If you missed it, here it is:

I'm sorry, but this makes me so sad. Not the fact that the mom is nursing a 4 year old. If you want to do that, by all means go ahead. That's not the issue. It's the title... Are you mom enough? Really? This breaks my heart. What about the moms who can't breastfeed? There are many reasons why it might not be possible. Because they have to give their baby formula, does that make them less of a mom? Or what about the moms who have adopted babies? They can't breastfeed. They are just as much of a mom as I am, even though their baby wasn't born out of their womb. What are you saying about them? What about the babies who have such severe allergies that they can't take breastmilk? I see that all the time at my work. Often times these moms are devastated to find out that they need to stop nursing and put their baby on a special formula for their baby's health. Are these moms not 'mom enough' because of this? No! Publicity on breastfeeding such as this magazine cover is doing more harm than good. World, quit making it such an issue! Of course I am pro breastfeeding. I am happy that there are laws that protect me when I need to feed Lucas if we're out in public. Do I whip it all out and walk around bare boobed in public because the law says it's okay? Absolutely not. I cover myself and try to feed him in as private of a place as possible. I'm happy that places like the hospital I work at are pro breastfeeding. When I had Lucas, I had lactation consultants lined up waiting to help me and teach me. My coworkers are very supportive of me needing time during my work shifts to pump. But this whole concept of extreme lactivists (which may be one of my new favorite words) is ridiculous. Just let nursing moms be. Support them, love on them, encourage them, but don't make it a spectacle. I feel like there is so much more I want to say about breastfeeding, but I'm just not sure how. If you're reading this and you are a new breastfeeding mom, hang in there! There were times when it would have been so easy to quit. But I'm SO glad I didn't. It's worth it.