With my first girl, I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I never thought I would breastfeed for that long. My aunt breastfed for about 3 months with each of her two girls and I figured I would probably do the same, and I would supplement with formula so that she would get used to having formula for when I quit breastfeeding. Along came my little girl. It took me a few times to get it right (I even had a lactation consultant in the hospital help me - trust me, it's not always as easy as it looks) but we were doing fine. I supplemented with formula and everything was going fine until she was about 2 1/2 months old. She got sick and could hardly keep anything down. The formula she spit up right away, the breastmilk, she kept down better. So that was it. The formula was OUT the door! From then on I exclusively breastfed her.
Once you get used to it, breastfeeding is the most wonderful thing between a mom and her child, and it's so easy! Nothing to prepare, just whip it out and feed her.
Soon came the teeth. I had heard all these stories and so I was waiting for the OUCH!! to come along. She did nip once or twice, but she soon learned that if she wanted it, she better not bite. My first one was a marathon breastfeeder. She would go for a 1/2 hour or more.
When it came time to wean her, it was a slow process. When she was a year old, I had the breastfeeding sessions on a more structured timeline. That way, slowly I could cut them out one at a time. The last one to stop was that one in the middle of the night. Hey, that was my secret weapon to her getting back to sleep and me not having to be up all night long (not that that mattered, she was a night owl from the beginning). It was definitely sad when I quit breastfeeding her, at least for me, at 18 months. Good thing was that I didn't get my period until she was a year old when I started cutting back!
Along comes my 2nd and last child. Now, this time, I was going to breastfeed her exclusively from the start, and if she kept breastfeeding until she was 2, that was fine by me (and by that time, they aren't clamoring for the boob all day long, it's usually only at night time). Well, she came early. Six weeks early, and so when I gave birth to her, I could hold her for a minute, but then they had to take her away to NICU to be examined and taken care of since she was early. I missed out on having her breastfeed right there after she was born. I made it crystal clear though when she was in NICU. No formula. Only my breastmilk. They gave me a pump and I religiously pumped every 3 hours to get the colostrum for her and my milk going. She finally got to have it after a few days and once she got used to it, taking it from a bottle, I got to try breastfeeding her. Well, you would think that since I did it before with my oldest that I would have it down pat. Yea, no such luck. I had to have the lactation consultant come in again to help me with her. Hey, it had been 5 years since I breastfed.......
So we get home. Breastfeeding is going good, although let me tell you one thing. Breastfeeding every 3 hours when they are newborns? BWAHAHAHAHAA!!! Yea, that's a good one, try every hour or so! I had never been SO incredibly sleep deprived in my life! There was a time I broke down and cried in my husband's arms because I was so tired! But I also was determined. No formula. My breastmilk was the best.
**************Note: Not to say that formula isn't good for babies, obviously it is for women who cannot or don't care to breastfeed. I don't want to start a breastmilk/formula war here....
They say to give it six weeks to get things going. That's about right. It's more like at least 2 months though for me though. Also, they'll go through growth spurts at times and want to nurse more, and that's just nature's way of increasing your milk supply.
Now my 2nd one? She liked to bite and nip. And she would do it a lot!! She was awnry from the start! She also liked to look around, but wanted to keep nursing while she was doing it, so she would try and take "me" with her while turning her head. Then she'd look at me and smile. Awnry little cuss!
*Downside of breastfeeding:
You certainly can't go out by yourself for very long at first, unless you have a stash of breastmilk in your freezer, and that's only if the baby will take it from a bottle. Oh, and if you're away from her and you think about her? You'll start leaking for sure!
Clogged milk ducts. Holy shit, they hurt! You'll squeeze your boob in every possible direction just to get that thing unclogged!!
When/If they do bite you, damn, it hurts.
Wearing nursing pads. Hey, let's face it, unless you're wearing a good thick shirt and thick bra, they show through.
Leaking if you don't wear nursing pads. Not fun.
Establishing the milk supply that first six weeks and having no sleep? Yea, not fun either.
*Upside of breastfeeding:
Squirting your husband from across the room.
Not having to prepare formula.
The unbelievable bond you form with your baby while nursing.
It delays your period from coming back. Definite plus!
You can eat just about anything you want and you won't gain weight. It's true!
"Sorry hon, I'm breastfeeding, can you get that?"
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