Breastfeeding - Love/Hate

On any given day, I would classify my relationship with breastfeeding as love/hate. I bet I'm not the only one. Again, I am very much PRO-breastfeeding, and I love it more than I hate it....but there are many downsides. Here is my pro/con list, that in all honesty, is pretty pointless, because I'm going to breastfeed all of my babies. It's just nice to rant sometimes :-)


Reasons I love breastfeeding. 

• It is the God (and nature) intended way mammal babies are to be fed. I'm a big au naturale person. 
• It is proven to be healthier than formula. 
• It helps reduce the mom's risk of breast cancer. 
• It is free. 
• It means less preparation for feedings and also less packing for travel or errands. 
• Because the best way to feed an older nursling, is in a quiet/dark room...you get alone time with your adorable babe. 

Reasons I hate breastfeeding.

• I cannot leave baby G for a long period of time without {a} pumping milk ahead of time and {b} pumping milk while I am away from her during feeding times. Thus, it's usually easier to just not leave her...ever. In the first few weeks, I never wanted to leave her side, so that was fine. As the honeymoon phase ended, though, it get pretty old--pretty quick. I know I am her mom, but sometimes I just need to have a break! Luckily, she now goes longer between feedings, so I am able to leave her for a few hours to run errands or work out. I still have yet to leave her for an overnight.
• Baby G still pretty much refuses doesn't like to take a bottle. I know this is better than her preferring a bottle to the breast, but it's still frustrating for those few times that I do pump and leave her with a babysitter. 
• There are times that it is painful. The beginning was especially hard with the fiasco we experienced. And we most recently went through a painful time on the right side, due to some teething/latch issues that took about a week to get over. 
• There are times when G will sleep through the night, but I can't. I am awake at the time that she usually eats, with a full, leaking breast. fun. This was worse in the beginning when her sleep patterns were really dynamic (1 - 3 months), but has leveled off some now. 
• On car trips we either have to stop multiple times to feed baby G, in addition to stopping to change her diaper, because God knows they rarely match up. She never wants to eat very much when we are stopped for a diaper change... OR I have to position myself dangled above her car seat so that she is still buckled in, but can nurse (illegal and unsafe, I know).
• Nursing in public. Formula feeding would completely knock this bullet out... 
• There are not a lot of frugal options for good nursing bras, so I really only have 1 good nursing bra, two sport-type nursing bras, and 3 nursing tanks. My regular bra collection is still in a box, and they may never get used again because who knows what size I will be when G has weaned. I have a bra collection like many women have a shoe collection--I don't, however, have a shoe collection. 
• Daily leaking / nursing pads. Heaven forbid I forget some when we leave the house! I have reusable ones that a dear friend made me... so that is a big money saver. In the beginning, I did use disposable ones more often since leaking was more of an issue then. 
• G went through a phase where she was pretty fussy while nursing. I'll write more about that later, but for right now, suffice it to say {a} milk got wasted, {b} I had to try to hold on to a bucking bronco, and {c} it took forever to get a full feeding in. 

Breastfeeding isn't always easy, fun, or comfortable. It is, however, great for your baby, great for you, and free. The best part about it is that your baby has an intimate bond with only you, and most of the time, while nursing, they are as peaceful as you will ever see them.