How amazing is it that a baby for the first six months of life (or longer) survives and thrives on just a mother's breast milk?!
I was not interested in breastfeeding, nor was I looking forward to it, I even had some anxiety around it. There are is a lot of resources and advice out there all creating expectations for you and the baby.
For whatever reason, I was blessed with a baby that breasted moments after birth, and our experience did have some initial ups and downs and tears but its been a very bonding experience for us.
If you decide to breastfeed and are successful or even if you don't I wanted to share some amazing things I learned about breast milk.
- you can use breast milk on scratches and cuts to heal them
- you have different types of milk, some of it contains more water and is hydrating and some is more full of fat to aid in sleep
- breastfed babies poop doesn't smell
- breast milk is free and good for the environment!
- breast milk is always the right temperature
- breastfeeding lowers the mother's chance of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer
- breastfeeding lowers mother's stress and lowers risk of postpartum depression
- you are very portable while breastfeeding and can do it anywhere (if you're comfortable with that, and you should be)
- breastfeeding is the best way to calm and settle your baby
- breast milk changes throughout the day and is highest in fat in the middle of the night
- breast milk contains antibodies, which protect baby from getting the same illness (flu or cold)
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All of our children were breastfed. It was very important physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally for all of us (even for me as a father). My wife made it a part of daily life, giving nourishment any time or place it was needed. Often, in public, she would use a baby blanket to cover herself/baby during feeding. Some women (never guys) were very uncomfortable with this. They had been strongly conditioned against it - had lost connection with their bodies as a source of warmth and nourishment. My wife accepted those situations as part of the process of normalizing and reclaiming her body from puritanical/over-sexualizing influences (funny how those go together) in our cultures.