We all know that breastfeeding is better for the baby and that naturally saves us money as well, but this doesn't mean it's an easy task. The baby might not want to do it, it might hurt the mum, it can be tough. Do you have kids on breastfeeding age? How are you doing with it? Is it something you would do?
Breastfeeding is really important and it has a lot of benefits not only for the baby but also for the mother. I've breastfed my all my children and yes it was hard for me at first because of the latching problems but I kept on trying and its all worth it. It's best for the baby, it makes the mother loose pregnancy weight because it makes the uterus contract and its also convenient, saves money and a more. Breastfeeding is a win-win.
I'm yet to meet a baby who doesn't want to suckle or one whose toothless gums would hurt the mother The reason mothers should prefer breastfeeding is because the milk has the right nutrients to help the kid develop properly [something no fancy formula can ever get right]. So if you avoid any complications that may arise later because the baby missed some vital nutrients it will save you a lot of money anyway.
Some babies have a hard time doing it on the breast because the milk comes out much more easily from the bottle, that's what I meant and this has happened with my first kid, he really needed a lot of time to be breastfed, sometimes nearly one hour because he was too small to have strength to suck properly.
Well then in that case, if you could do more within that hour, it would be better to give the baby a bottle. But there's a way to work around that. A breast pump can suck milk from the mother's breast. From there it's easy to get the milk in a bottle so that if the baby has difficulty suckling, s/he can still get mom's milk.
Breast pumps are tricky too, some women have and easy time with them, others don't. I think breastfeeding is great, but at the same time is not the easy process many imagine to be, the mother really makes and effort and a sacrifice to give the best to the baby, it's an act of love.
That's true, I too agree that is an act of love and sacrifice, but ultimately everyone wins with this choice. Even so, there are quite a few women that out of pure convenience choose not to breastfeed and to be honest this goes beyond my understanding.
I breastfed my son for the first four months of his life. It was a way to save money and it was great for him, but it is really hard on the mom. When you have a newborn being the sole source of food means you are not going to get very much sleep. My husband had trouble understanding why I was so cranky some of the time. Waking up every two hours to feed our son because I was the source of food was hard! I would do it again though. It was so much better for him than formula.
That is so true, we were lucky actually because our kids never ate every two hours and it was really early until they gave us a full night sleep. My wife breastfed them approximately until 10 months old, but at that age they only drank the milk when they woke up and and sleeping time, during the day they had other foods of course.
I'm not a mother, so I've never breastfed. I have heard that breastmilk has very important nutrients and enzymes that aid in immune system growth. I don't think there's any disputing the benefits of breastfeeding, especially in the first 6 months. However, some women and babies just can't breastfeed for whatever reason and unless you're living in an area without a source of clean water, it's not going to matter for your baby. There's no way to distinguish in the population which adults were breastfed and which weren't. Most of the touted "benefits" of breastfeeding are more often explained by the fact that women who breastfeed tend to come from higher economic brackets anyway. I used to nanny for a woman who was still breastfeeding her 3 year old son. Whatever works for you!
I've always heard that it's much better for the baby to be breastfed, I don't have any children yet but when I do they will (barring any obstacles) definitely be breastfed, as not only is it good for him, it's the best bonding mechanism for the mother.
I love listening to a bunch of men talk about the joys and complications of breastfeeding. As if you'll ever know or understand. I've breastfed three babies. The first one was the hardest. I was a working mom, and had to pump at work, and that baby was colicky and had reflux and was a very big baby who wanted to eat a lot but my body wasn't making enough milk, and it was stressful and difficult. We did supplement with formula for her. My next two babies were very easy compared to the first. Had more than enough milk. Both were great at nursing or taking a bottle of pumped milk. I was able to get on a good schedule with each so that it wasn't a huge burden. But it is still a sacrifice. Everything the mom eats and consumes goes to the baby, so you have to consider everything you are eating, every medication you are taking, etc. Milk/dairy can be a problem for some babies. Others have reactions to things like leafy greens and veggies. Figuring out what works and getting into a rhythm with the baby takes time. I love that it is cheap and healthy, but I'll never join the ranks of those who say it is "easier" than bottle feeding.
That's true claire, I'm a man, but I've seen what my wife gone through and I appreciate her efforts, it's really a sacrifice moms do for their kids, in fact bottle feeding is way easier and faster, but on the other hand is worse for the kid and more expensive.
I always breastfeed. It has too many benefits, both for the mother and the child for me not to do it to be quite honest. Yes it's a bit of a pain, but in the modern day with breast pumps and the like, I don't even have to be the one that gets up to feed the baby.
My baby is now 11 months old. I am no longer breastfeeding. I tried breastfeeding and it was very difficult for me. My baby had a hard time staying latched. It became very frustrating. Because my baby had a hard time latching for 4 months I exclusively pumped instead of putting my baby to my breast. I found this to be a little easier for me, but it was still hard work. After being home for about 4 months I had to return to work. When I returned to work it was stressful for me to manage pumping at work. I decided to give up pumping and start my baby on formula. I have no regrets about my decision. I did the best that I could. This may sound strange but I found when I gave up pumping I was happier and my family was happier also because the stress I was feeling was gone. I was able to take the focus off of pumping and give it to my family. My baby is healthy, and has been doing great!
Breast pumps are not always easy, with my wife they didn't worked properly, meaning she could not get the milk out, so they were useless. klassiter, in my opinion 4 months is better than nothing and your baby received a great benefit from it. You're the living proof of how hard it is to breastfeed, I'm sure your baby will thank you later for your effort.
I think that a lot of the misconceptions about breastfeeding come from a lack of education and cultural awareness. There shouldn't be any doubt that it's better for baby and is indeed less expensive. It's also better for mom as well. I have a grand total of a little over five years spent nursing, though when I first got going, I did need the help of a lactation consultant because we had latch issues. Once that was solved, it was the easiest, most natural thing in the world. And, in my opinion, once you get past the first few weeks, it's a million times easier than bottle feeding. It was tough to pump and store when I worked, but when I was with my babies, the ease made up for it tenfold, especially with those middle of the night meals. There's a bunch of breastfeeding myths I feel should be dispelled, but out of diplomacy, I shall bite my tongue.
Breast feeding is indeed a important role to do but for some of us, we are not able to do this. I have 3 kids and was not able to breast feed any of them. I had several people help me try but it just was not possible.
Do you have a Le Leche league near you? I was a Le Leche league leader and helped women breastfeed their babies. Sure there can be latch on issues, but usually it how a person is shown. The baby's mouth and jaw gets stronger. Which is another of the advantages. I don't recall any mothers we did not end up helping. We were taught that there is almost no reason people can't nurse their babies. The only being hepatitis. Best wishes to all. Log In
I never heard of that before Ruth, possibly is something in the US only? Either cases, I think that the principle is there, if we lack experience we should read or ask around, we should not trust the opinion of just one person even if it's a doctor because there are bad doctors and even doctors with bad days and this can hurt our baby, like it happened to me.