10 Reasons I Love Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding.  There are so many opinions on the subject.  Recently I read a post on 10 reasons why I hated breastfeeding and although it made me sad for the writer, especially because she probably didn’t have the support she needed to make a decision either way, some of the comments she received were awful, the whole post underlined my ultimate belief which is:

As long as your baby is loved, as long as your baby is fed,  as long as you are happy then who the hell am I to judge you?

It also made me think.  Despite the tough parts of breastfeeding, and there are plenty says she who is sat here with a blocked duct and slight temperature, potential mastistis, there is much for me, personally, to love about it.

So in the interests of showing the other side of the coin and in response to the ten reasons you hate breastfeeding, here are the ten reasons I LOVE breastfeeding. Yin and yang right? I could try and go all physics on you all and say that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, but I’m not sure that’s the right quote and I’m better at writing than science these days.  (If you didn’t know I hold a Masters in Chemistry *smart*)

Without further ado….the ten reasons I love breastfeeding:

10.  Its free

Have you seen the price of formula these days??

9.  I can do it with one arm

Heck, I am even working on being able to do it hands free (involving leaning and cushions, I’ll let you know how that goes) Leaving the other free to play Lego, or planes, or play doh, or cuddle with my toddler.

handsfree bfMy (failed) attempt at handsfree

8.  I am inherently lazy

I couldn’t be bothered with the faff of getting up at night and making a bottle, I prefer rolling over and flopping my boob out to feed my hungry baby while drifting back off to sleep.

7.  It’s the right temperature

It seems Baby Boy has inherited my lack of patience.  He would not tolerate having to wait for a bottle to heat up or cool down. Quite frankly my ears also won’t tolerate the screaming that accompanies this.

6.  I am forgetful

I’d never remember to pack enough bottles for a day out.  Can’t forget your boobs though can you?

even if they do trail behind me these days

5. It is my excuse to eat LOTS of Cake

I eat what I like.  When I like.  OK so this is mainly cake and the excuse is I’m breastfeeding I need the calories.

Toblerone CheesecakeThis is Toblerone Cheesecake. Can I just say NOM!

Ok ok ok I probably don’t and if I do its from good healthy food not beautiful blissful chocolate cake.  But hey.  I’m breastfeeding what’s your excuse?

4.  I take time out for cuddles

In a world where I’m constantly rushing around to pick the toddler up from nursery or run to our latest playdate it’s good for me to remember to take a moment to stop and snuggle my baby boy.  To feed him to a state of milk drunk and feel his heavy weight in my arms watching his eyelids flutter to a close.  To block out the crazy world and just be close with my littlest man.

breastfeeding sleep

3. Breast milk is incredible

When I fed the toddler I took part in a PhD study analysing breast milk. Everyone’s is different. Genetically designed to be the correct fit for their baby. Filled with different proteins, sugars and amino acids. Stuffed full of antibodies. Clever stuff.

Not only that but did you know that breast milk is also a natural pain reliever? I fed my little one immediately after his first set of injections and I swear I saw this 2 day old baby (Dubai remember – TB jab) visibly relax in my arms. Much faster than just a cuddle would.

2. My boobs don’t get left on the table

I’m naturally a messy person.

I hate to wash and sterilise. I am not much good at tidying things away. Half full bottles of milk hanging around (probably for my toddler to chew on and drink, yuk) would be the order of the day. At least my boobs are attached to me and can’t get left on the table.

Unfortunately they do now rest on it…..

1. I worked hard to get to this point and I’m proud of myself

I’m not going to lie and say breastfeeding was all roses and rainbows. It wasn’t. Blocked ducts. Mastitis. Bleeding cracked nipples. A baby that didn’t want to be put down. Blood in my milk. No routine. Leaking. With Baby Boy him turning slightly blue at my first attempt to feed (due to him being swollen from the 17 hour non progressive Labour ending in rupture and c section). Being in tears to the helpline with the Toddler because I couldn’t work out how on earth he should latch.

Each time I have worked hard to get breastfeeding established.

Breastfeeding is AN ACHIEVEMENT. And one I am amazingly proud of myself for.

I love breastfeeding for giving me that confidence to be proud in my ability to give what I want to give to my children. To be proud of the choices I’ve made whilst not belittling the choices of others.

Whilst I have my own 10 reasons I love breastfeeding these could be different to someone else’s 10 reasons, someone else might say they love it because it’s tailor made, or because it’s virtually impossible to over feed a breast fed baby.

Though I’m with the writer on one point….. pumping sucks.

If you liked this post why not follow Life with Baby Kicks over at Facebook for more giggles and to be brutally honest, a lot of photo spam of the boys.

 

 

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22 Comments

  1. July 13, 2015 / 5:00 pm

    This is a great post! Sometimes you really need to sit back and think about the benefits of feeding and why you love it! Sometimes I felt guilty for succeeding at feeding and I really shouldn’t. I’m lazy too and remembering stuff and getting up at night for bottles is hard!!! Xx #maternitymondays

    • Laura
      Author
      July 13, 2015 / 10:31 pm

      Thanks Sarah. It’s such a fine line to try and give a positive message on breastfeeding whilst attempting to not make it sound pressured or sanctimonious!

      The main reason I love it is because of my laziness! X

    • Laura
      Author
      July 13, 2015 / 10:32 pm

      And the cake…. but that’s a breastfeeding lie about losing weight

  2. Helen
    July 13, 2015 / 8:04 pm

    I’m with you when it comes to use breastfeeding to eat whatever you like! I most certainly exceed the 500 calories we apparently burn by breasfeeding each day :/ #MaternityMondays

    Helen x

    http://treasureeverymoment01.blogspot.co.uk/

    • Laura
      Author
      July 13, 2015 / 10:32 pm

      Haha I’m glad it’s not just me. Cake cake cake….. x

  3. July 13, 2015 / 10:47 pm

    I’m totally with you! I love the fact that breast feeding is meant to have health benefits but I love it more for the convenience. We had a pretty bumpy start this time but things are going well now. Tin Box Baby has one bottle when we go to bed because we want Mr TB to be able to do a feed as well – we always regretted not being able to do that with the Tot. The bottle is formula because I grew to hate expressing when we were put on a feeding plan when TBB was just over a week old. It exhausted me. Luckily TBB quickly started porking up and is now bigger than her sister was at the same age. Go boobs! #MummyMonday

    • Laura
      Author
      July 14, 2015 / 1:44 am

      We had a bumpy start too with the baby turning blue! I blame the c section! I did that with the toddler I need to introduce a bottle with the baby. It’s still on my to do list!! I am just too cheap to pay for formula when I have so much milk I leak! I should pump and give to the baby. Heck. I should pump and donate!!! X

  4. July 14, 2015 / 1:16 am

    Hahaha I love the books on the table bit 🙂 can you imagine how quickly formula would go off in Dubai heat too? I found a bottle in an old back which had leaked. Oh my goodness the smell. It was horrendous x

    • Laura
      Author
      July 14, 2015 / 1:34 am

      I already know how terrible I’d be because the toddler has ONLY JUST allowed us to take his bottles away…. can you imagine whole milk in Dubai left for the day – I can tell you IT CURDLES IN HOURS! yuk. Yes my poor boobs and nursing bras just don’t cut it with the hoiking them from my belly to my chin……. x

  5. July 14, 2015 / 2:47 am

    This was a really refreshing list of reasons to breastfeed. I love this post! I breastfed both of my kids (still nursing my 17 month old daughter). In the U.S., there’s so much propaganda about “breast is best,” but it often seems like breastfeeding is widely accepted here. I don’t dare breastfeed in public, and they don’t really help you (at least in my experience) in the hospital other than to tell you that “the baby’s latch shouldn’t hurt.” It hurt like no other!!!
    At any rate, yes, I loved breastfeeding in the end and I’d do it all over again with the next baby (even though, like you, my breastfeeding intentions weren’t always in the baby’s interest!). I still think the hospitals need to work with new mothers more and society needs to stop judging, though. I recently wrote a post about why breastfeeding isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, mainly because I think new mothers need a reality check about breastfeeding that they’re not getting beforehand.

    • Laura
      Author
      July 17, 2015 / 12:54 am

      Thanks Alison. I hate the propaganda but I do like the message, I think it should be amended to “Breast is best, but one size doesn’t fit all” or something along those lines.

      I live in Dubai and breastfeeding is so widely accepted, celebrated even, that I’ve never ever felt awkward feeding in public.

      I think I went in with the right expectations though after my friends experiences. More support is required but services are limited I guess xx

  6. July 14, 2015 / 4:39 am

    Isn’t it just wonderful that there’s enough room for all us, with our different loves and hates, and preferences and choice. So sad that some people have the need to put others down just because they don’t agree with them. I’ll pop by and have a read at the post that inspired yours.

    By the way, my comment above is in relation to the poor responses you said the other post got.

    Yeah, I love all the things you identified about breastfeeding too; I only have one though, not sure how it would be with 2.

    Pumping isn’t my favourite thing but we do what we have to do for our little ones. I suppose how we feed our children could be part of the way we express our love for them … or not. Breastfeeding is definitely part of the way I love my little one. It’s not the easiest, especially at the beginning and it can be very inconvinient , but I won’t swap the opportunity for anything else in the world. #MaternityMondays

    • Laura
      Author
      July 17, 2015 / 12:47 am

      I’ve definitely found it much much harder to pump this time now there are 2 of them. The hated posts make me sad that there only seem to be the sanctimonious posts about bf positives about which isn’t the case we should all be proud!

  7. July 15, 2015 / 12:35 pm

    I was getting myself ready for a bashing as I didn’t breastfeed for various reasons (first baby through choice, 2nd baby I had no choice) but I loved this list; really refreshing to read a post on breastfeeding that didn’t spout ‘breast is best’ at me and make me feel like a poor mother. Interesting too about how everyone’s milk is different.

    • July 15, 2015 / 12:35 pm

      #bestandworst (see, my memory is terrible too :))

    • Laura
      Author
      July 17, 2015 / 12:43 am

      Im so glad that you read it through as I want people to know its not a bashing! That I’m not trying to rain on your parade I’m just celebrating my own x

    • Laura
      Author
      July 17, 2015 / 12:46 am

      Mwah x

  8. July 18, 2015 / 1:39 am

    Brilliant post! And all very true! High five to Breastfeeding!!!

    • Laura
      Author
      July 23, 2015 / 8:25 am

      Thanks Louise – high 5!

  9. July 25, 2015 / 5:31 am

    Thanks for linking with #BreastfeedingandI; the fact that breastfeeding is free is one of the few things I can remember from my NHS breastfeeding class. And my, did I work for that ‘free’; the hardest and most tasking job of my life. 🙂

    (I know I comment before; hope you don’t mind that I’m back again) 🙂

    • Laura
      Author
      July 25, 2015 / 5:04 pm

      Haha no problem! You’ve reminded me about the free and if you’re going to have a glass of wine then drink it while you feed!

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