Breast milk is cheap. It costs absolutely nothing, which makes it
much cheaper than formula. If you need a breast pump, one is usually supplied
free of charge by your insurance.
Breastfeeding is low maintenance. No need to
wash bottles constantly, which has the added benefit of being great for your
skin!
Mother - Baby Bonding. There's no denying
breastfeeding builds a bond between mother and baby. I'm discovering how strong that bond is as I
wean; it is an emotional process, and
certainly a change for the baby as evidenced by his attempts to eat from me
through my shirt when I am trying to give him a bottle!
Freedom for your hands. Once your baby is
nicely positioned, you have one or even two hands free to do other things (even
if those other things are surfacing Facebook on your phone!)
It is best for baby and mama's health. It has been pretty well established that a
woman's body is designed to produce the best possible food for her baby - it
will take formula a few millennia to catch up with a woman's body! What I did
not know is that a mother's body actually responds to an infant's nutritional
needs and the content of the breast milk changes to give the baby what he needs most at any given time. Breastfeeding is also good for mom, reducing risk of
breast cancer among other things.
Fewer digestive issues, and therefore, less laundry! Breast milk is very easy to digest, and whereas a baby can gulp down a bottle of
formula pretty quickly, he has to work a bit harder and eat a bit more slowly
when breastfeeding. The slower eating process helps the baby to swallow less
air and need to burp less frequently (meaning I can be more distracted while
he's eating!). Combine this with ease of
digestion and breast milk generally leads to less spit-up (meaning less dirty
laundry!) When it does come back up, breast milk stains less and washes out more
easily than spit up from formula .
No baggage. When nursing, you can go anywhere
without having to pack bottles and formula. The diaper bag is much less bulky,
and there are no concerns over keeping prepared bottles refrigerated.
As with anything,
there are some downsides. The major downside is that daddy (and anyone
else)cannot feed the baby unless you pump and bottle feed with breast milk. It
can also be tricky to feed in public if you (or those around you) feel awkward.
However, Udder Covers makes great nursing covers that come in handy and can
help you nurse confidently and discreetly anywhere! A personal peeve of is the
outrage is sometimes voiced over mother's nursing publicly. If there is minimal
public outrage over movies, video games, and lingerie ads showing much more
scantily clad women than your average nursing mom, there should be zero outrage
over the a perfectly normal, natural and non-sexual function of nursing. So be brave and nurse proudly!
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