My Love/Hate Relationship With Breastfeeding

Welcome to my celebration week of guest bloggers! I wanted to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than to share some of my favorite voices with you! There are 7 ladies that will be writing for your reading enjoyment! There will be one lovely lady featured each day for the next week! I am so excited to share some of my favorite ladies with you! I hope you enjoy! These lovely ladies took a day away from their own awesome blogs to guest post for me here at W3G, so Please stop by their blogs and show them some lovin'!

 

Today we have Risa at Counting My Blessings, writing for you! She and I met when she nominated me for a Liebster Award! For those non-bloggers following along, a Liebster Award is a prestigious, peer recognition award that is awarded to up and coming bloggers! We have been bloggy buds ever since! Risa is married with two kids. She started a blog when she was on maternity leave with her baby who is now almost 5 months old. Along with blogging, working full time, and taking care of her two kids (ages 6 years old and 5 months old), Risa is also going to school to get her Master's degree in Clinical Counseling. Risa hopes that her blog will help other mothers, provide some topics for discussion, and entertain others with her writing.
She is a doll! Go check her out! NOW! GO! Well, after you read her post below! Wink! Happy reading! And don't forget to tune in tomorrow!

 

 

 

My love/hate relationship with breastfeeding.

I tried to breast feed my first child. It didn't work out so well. Not only did I have an overactive letdown, which if you've never experienced it is pure craziness, my daughter also seemed to have some kind of milk protein intolerance. She would cry non stop for at least 2 hours, every single night. I managed to breast feed her for about 2 months before I simply gave up. She was a happier baby for it.
When my son came along, I was ready to have the same troubles. After all, my daughter inherited her milk protein intolerance from her dad. I thought that my milk may come in the same way too. Alas, things have turned out much better this time around and I am breast feeding my son going on 5 months!
That being said, breastfeeding is great, but sometimes I HATE it! It's a love/hate relationship.

So why do I love breastfeeding?
-It's a way to bond with my child. I think I love that “skin-to-skin” as much as he does and it makes him so happy to see me after I've been gone all day!
-It saves a TON of money! It's great to not have to buy formula all the time!
-It's very convenient. Baby needs to eat, the food source is right there. I just have to find a comfortable, discreet place to feed him if I'm in public. I will breastfeed in public, I just try not to do it right in the middle of everything.
-It helped me lose weight and has helped me to keep it off. When I couldn't breastfeed my daughter, I gained back all the weight I lost from giving birth and then some! With my son, I lost 20 pounds just giving birth and another 15 since then.
-It's great for the baby! He was 5 pounds 13 ounces when he was born and he weighed 13 pounds by the time he was four months old. A lot of people who see him say they can tell he's breastfed because he's got those chubby cheeks! I love it!

Why do I hate breastfeeding?
-I'm the only source. I have to get up at all hours of the night and feed the baby, while my husband snores away in the bed. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to work, but I have to be to work at 7 am so sometimes it is really tough.
-I hate pumping. I feel like a cow. Some days, it's tolerable. Some days, I wish I could just skip it. But I know I have to do it to keep up my supply.
-Sometimes, I wonder if my baby only loves me so much because I have the food. Then I think about it for a minute...nah he'd love me either way!!

So, if you are a breastfeeding mom or you are a soon-to-be mom thinking about breastfeeding, remember this. There may be some things you absolutely hate about breastfeeding, but when I weigh the pros and the cons, the things I love versus the things I hate, the things I love definitely win out. Don't let the tough times discourage you. Power through and you'll see that the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences.

 

Hope you all enjoyed!