Over a year ago, my lunch date Shawn and I would have been talking about roller derby but today we were talking about babies. It's amazing how friendships evolve when a new little one joins your life. Today we talked about making baby food and breastfeeding.
It seems that really no one in our lives really has breast feed. Our mothers didn't along with a lot of family and friends so when I tell ppl I'm going to breastfeed, I don't get flack but a lot of questions about why I want to do it. I'm all about saving money and that's really why I want to do it.
Shawn also turned me onto Ask Dr. Sears. I wish I would have known sooner about this but now I know. I think I'd get more out of this than Babyfit.com.
7 comments:
There is a breastfeeding class that you can take at St. Charles that I highly recommend you and your hubby go to. It tells you (and shows you) the basics of breastfeeding, why to breastfeed, the health benefits, what to do if you have problems, and how to pump and store breastmilk. I took my teenager and my hubby and we all walked away feeling I was making the right choice for the babies.
I tried breastfeeding with Katya but felt so overwhelmed with the whole thing that I only made it 9 weeks. I did much better with the other two and I feel that class helped me when I was getting sick of it.
I breastfed all 4 kids for varying lengths of time, and while it's a little strange at first, pretty soon, it seems like a lot less work that dealing with formula and bottles, especially at 2 in the morning when you can just stick the kid to your body and doze off. Also, unlike bottle feeding, it leaves one hand free. Feeding time was when I had a chance to read a book or magazine, check my email, or return phone calls.
I LOVE Dr. Sears and I'm all about the breastfeeding!
My mom breastfed me. She said it was easier than packing around a bottle.
When I started weaning towards solid foods, she went so far as to make my own baby food. It was easy in Hawaii -- our neighborhood was full of fruit trees so I ate apple-bananas, lilikoi, guava, poi (taro root) and mashed up fish.
Funny. Those same things are now my favorite foods (minus the already-smashed seafood!).
I would have done it if I could have I don't see why you wouldn't at least try. Good for you. And yes it is cheaper. Amaris formula is 26 bucks for a dinky can. Gotta love it!
I breastfed my two for a year each. A lot of women have trouble with it but I didn't; and it was way easier than toting around a bottle, as the others said. If you birth at St. Charles they send a woman to your house to help with breastfeeding -- at least they did 4 years ago.
You might also like Ask Moxie, who's extremely practical: http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/
I breastfed my daughter for 11 months, and then got bit by a tick and had to wean her to get on the antibiotics to make sure I didn't get Lyme disease.
Anyhoo, the first week after she was born *was* tough. We experimented with different holding positions because none of the "advertised" ones were working well. My nipples were chaffed (use Lansinoh!), and I was in extreme pain for a couple days. The home-visit from St. Charles helped a lot, and after that I was good to go. *So* much more convenient than having to tote around materials - it's all attached to you! And the health benefits to the baby are proven. I went into it with the idea that there was no other option, so I was determined. If you have doubts or trouble ask for help. It's worth it.
Also, the Lansinoh brand of nursing pads (to stick in the non-nursing side for leakage - mine both tended to flow at the same time even if one wasn't being used) are great. That part was sort of annoying, but hey, it was only for 11 months. In the grand scheme, that's nothing.
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