Since E turned three last week I have found myself thinking about the past and how things have changed now.
E is a picky eater, I find it infuriating at times, she would quite happily live on fish fingers! E hasn’t always been this picky, there was a time when she would eat all sorts of meals and veg. People tell me its a phase. So I have decided to do a series of posts leading up from breastfeeding to my current picky eater.
When I was pregnant with Emily and I went to antenatal groups breastfeeding was promoted in a major way. All about the pro’s and con’s of breastfeeding. Until I was pregnant I never gave breastfeeding a second thought, all I thought was some people did it some didn’t and I would occasionally see someone breastfeeding in a coffee shop and consciously looking away.
Society tells you that you must breast feed as its very good for the baby.
Breastfed babies are shown to have a lowered risk of the following diseases:
*celiac disease
*diabetes
*multiple sclerosis
*sudden infant death syndrome
*childhood cancer
*autoimmune thyroid disease
*appendicitis
*osteoporosis
*cardiovascular disease
*juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
*obesity
*tonsillitis
*allergies and asthma
And breastfeeding isn’t just good for babies/children… it benefits mums as well! Women who have breastfed have been shown to have reduced risks of postpartum depression, osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancers, and type 2 diabetes. All of this information is given to you when your pregnant, all with a view of them telling you breast is best.
Society may tell you that breastfeeding is important, but there are those mums that are not able to breastfeed for various reasons. These mums are then left to feel like they are inferior as they are unable to feed. Then there are other mums that just don’t want to breastfeed.
When I was pregnant with E I didn’t really have an opinion about it, I went in with the attitude that I will give it a go and if it hurts or I don’t like it then she will be straight onto formula. What I didn’t expect was when E was born and I went into the recovery room they helped to get her to latch on straightaway. I was surprised it didn’t hurt and how easy it all was.
E seemed to take to breastfeeding very well as did I. There were many pro points to it, when my milk came in I wasn’t expecting how big my breasts would be! I loved that when I fed her it helped her fall asleep and it also made me relaxed and sleep easily after a night feed. The biggest pro point for me was the convenience. Not having to prepare bottles of formula and being able to feed her where ever we went, I wasn’t shy about breast feeding in public. It always made E calm too, there was a phase in the early weeks where she used to comfort feed in the early evening but it didn’t bother me, it was a special bond between me and my daughter.
I continued to breast feed for several months, I did start expressing so daddy could give her the occasional feed, which he loved. Eventually at around 4 months old we introduced one bottle of formula a day, E loved this. Possibly because it was so easy to drink from a bottle and maybe more filling. We eventually added more bottles till I was only doing the morning and night feeds, so I still had our special time. I was very lucky in some respects, E took to the bottle really well and she weaned herself off my breast on her own at a steady slow pace which meant I didn’t have any problems with my breasts being full of milk and painful.
I breastfed Emily for seven months in total, she took her last feed from me on the morning of new years eve, which meant I was able to have a few drinks. All of those seven months were enjoyable, easy and stress free. I think I was very lucky in that respect as I am aware its not as easy for everyone and that some mums do encounter problems.
From a young age Emily had a healthy appetite with her milk from breast to formula. Then it all led onto the weaning.. which I will write more about in another post.
For any mums out there expecting a baby, don’t just do what society tells you should do. Do what you want to do whether its breastfeeding or not!
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