Whose Boob Is It Anyway?

Again and again I am confronted with women who are choosing not to breastfeed their babies, and I continue to be baffled by this! There are actually Women, no wait - Mothers, who are simply not into "that". Well, I got news for you ladies - you're going to have to do sooo many things that you are 'not in to'. Changing diapers at all hours of the day and night, feeding the baby at all hours of the day and night, staying awake when you are sure you couldn't possibly stay awake another second - to name a few. Once you are a mom, there is no more room for selfishness. You can pretty much forget about having your wants met, half the time you will struggle to get your needs met. The first year of my daughter's life I hardly had time to pee, let alone shower. So if you are struggling with the idea of breastfeeding, you may want to reconsider the whole baby thing, because once you get pregnant and have a child, it will be a while before your body is YOUR body again. And breastfeeding is just a small part of that...

Listen, I am a Mom, but I used to be a woman who was not interested in babies, breastfeeding, pregnancy and certainly not labor and delivery! I had no intention of ever participating in any aspect of the experience and I knew the only way it would ever happen was by sheer miracle because I was taking EVERY precaution. Well, one miracle later and I am the proud mama of a beautiful Baby Girl!

Once I found out I was pregnant it was easy to change my diet and adjust my lifestyle. Not because I had been waiting for this blessed event my entire life, but because I knew it was the right thing to do! Same thing happened when it came to giving birth! If I had had it my way they would have knocked me out and done a C-section, but my doc wasn't going for that. Instead I had a natural delivery ( assisted by the greatly appreciated epidural!) and found it to be well worth it once I laid eyes on my baby. Then the time came to nurse and it wasn't easy, but it was done! I have never had so many strangers play with my nipples, nor have I ever seen my boob in so many pictures ( my husband was having a great time- sure they were all of the baby!) and I have also never experienced anything quite so incredible. Nursing your baby is the most indescribable feeling and if you have done it you know exactly what I'm talking about, if you chose not to, consider it a lost treasure - a fortune you declined!

Since I can't force every mom to nurse their baby, maybe I can point out some of the many benefits that maybe not everyone is aware of.

Well, there's the obvious reason, the nutrition. Breast Milk is perfectly produced by your body and will give your baby everything it needs to be healthy and grow. In addition to that, it works wonders on your baby's immune system. If the mom is exposed to anything, her body will develop antibodies and pass them on to the baby automatically. Never heard of formula doing that...

Breast Milk never has to be measured, heated or mixed. It is always ready and always the right amount. There is no sterilizing and no diaper bag overflowing with bottles and nipples, etc.

While you are the only person who can feed your baby, you can feed your baby anytime! Even in the middle of the night, and you never even have to get out of bed, if you don't want to.

Babies who are breastfed are less likely to be overweight, mostly because it's unlikely that they will be over fed. As mentioned above, it is always the right amount. It's a supply and demand sort of thing...

On the same note, Mom's who breastfeed are likely to lose the baby weight faster due to the several hundred calories they are burning a day by simply nursing their babies. Maybe you're not into that either.

Now to the best bonus for us women, while you are nursing frequently you will NOT get your period! ( However, this does not mean, that you cannot get pregnant.)

If you are still worried about the pain, there are these nifty little things called nipple shields. Not only do they allow your nipples to heal, but they also help with inverted nipples and teaching your baby to latch on properly.

Last but not least - Breast Milk is FREE! And in this economy, who isn't looking to save a few dollars whenever they can?! Especially when you are looking at buying diapers and wipes so often, you wish you owned stock in Huggies...

Look, I'm not just pushing the issue because I truly believe it's the healthiest thing you can do for your baby. I also know what it has meant to me as a mom, to share that with my baby. I'm not saying other mom's aren't close to their Babies, no doubt they are, but no matter what you say or want to believe, it's simply not the same.