Breast was best for me and my boys because I was able, eventually, to feed them both for the first 9 months of their little lives. However, I still believe that ultimately what is best for baby is not always the breast if it causes the mother to be stressed and to not enjoy the experience, which in turn causes problems for her baby. Bottle fed babies are still being fed, bonding still takes place and mummy is happy . It is *this* which what is important, afterall, not everywoman takes to breast feeding. Also another crucial thing is to not feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to.
In an ideal world I believe it would be wonderful for all babies to be breastfed. The milk is free, comes out at the correct temperature, no bottles are required and it is readily available day and night.
In reality, however, not all mummies can sucessfully breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that or admitting it is not for you.
All that said, I did enjoy feeding my two babies and the satisfaction I got from knowing that it was milk produced by my breasts, from my body that helped them to grow and develop soley in the first 5 1/2 months of their lives, and then as an extra nutritional drink as they started weaning, until they both weaned themselves off my milk around 9 months of age. It feels odd now when I see my breasts to think that they once fed my now two well built and big boys – it sometimes seems unimaginable actually. I am proud that I managed to feed them both myself and it was bloody hard going at times and I didn’t always get it right and I hated doing it in public as I got flustered. It was aslso exhausting as I was the only one who could feed them and had to get up at all hours to satisfy their hunger and I couldn’t go out without them because with me went thier food supply!! But, I would still do the same all over again.
I loved breast feeding because:
*I loved the feel of their little hands on my breast or my finger as they fed.
*I loved watching their little perfect faces look so content when sometimes before a feed they had been all red and full of cries telling me they were hungry and it was milk time!
*I loved it when they burped after their feeds – sometimes freeing up some air so they could continue feeding on the other breast, or sleepily because they were ready to sleep it all off.
*I loved it when they would fall asleep on me afterwards; their smell and the feel of their soft skin and fine hair against my face and hands
*I loved it because it was just me and my baby together experiencing a unique time that no other family member could give them
Thank you xx
Ahhh that’s a really lovely post. I loved breast feeding too although really struggled at first. I thought it would be a simple latch on and go but it took a while before we settled into a lovely routine.
What a lovely post, I’ve really enjoyed reading about everyone’s breastfeeding experiences even thought I couldn’t (I appreciate all you breastfeeding mums who support bottle feeding mums too!) I tried it but Lucas didn’t latch on and after 24hrs of him not feeding I got too stressed and upset to carry on. It sounds like it was a lovely experience for you and your boys, even though I’m sure it wasn’t always easy. xx
Such a lovely post. I wasn’t able to feed Wee Z for anymore than a week but I fed Miss C right up until she was 2 and it was such a lovely experience. The first few months were bloody hard but you get there. I used to love bedtime feeds as she’d be all clean after her bath in her baby grow and she smelled of lovely baby shampoo and she’d be all sleepy and cuddly. x
This is a beautiful post Jenny, and the photos made me melt, I bet you treasure them. I fed Mads till 11 months and I’d like to do the same for her sister.
Lovely post Jenny, the photos are gorgeous. I love to read other people’s breastfeeding experiences and yours was a great read xx
A lovely and thought provoking post Jen, you breastfed both boys alot longer than most women do and you deservedly should feel proud of that. In addition to the benefits you mention, you also have prevented both boys and yourself from suffering lifelong illnesses as well as decreased your chances of developing female cancers. I really enjoyed watching you breastfeed both boys, so natural. Well done. Love Kxxx