Breastfeeding Awareness Week

As I sit down to write this, I have to admit that I am already anticipating someone emailing to yell at me.  Why?  Breastfeeding can be a “hot button” issue….on both sides of the coin.  Some people feel passionately that every mom should breastfeed.  While others feel like if they don’t nurse, they are being judged.  Parents have strong feelings about this, and it’s an emotional one, too.  Some women really struggle with it.  I’ve seen friends “break down” over this, and I’ll admit I nearly did, too.  So—let me just start out by saying I make NO judgements about those who breastfeed and those who don’t.  To me, it’s a personal choice for each family to make on their own.  I’ll do what’s right for me—you do what’s right for you—and we’ll all be fine in the end right?  :)

Today on First at 4, we are chatting with a lactation consultant about the benefits of breastfeeding for both baby and mom, since it is world breastfeeding awareness week.  There’s a long list of health perks for both mom and baby.  Everything from reducing childhood obesity to cutting your risk of cancer.  Plus, I think in this tough economy more people are realizing the economic perks of it, too.  Breastfeeding is free (almost), and that’s certainly a good thing.  I think having support is key.  I need to give a shout out to the wonderful lactation consultants at Riverside Methodist Hospital’s Elizabeth Blackwell Center.  When Caroline was a month old we ran into some serious roadblocks and if I hadn’t had their help (along with my husband, mom, and mother-in-law) I doubt I would have been able to continue.  And that would have been ok, too.  Again, in the end you do what’s best for the baby, you and your family.  I’ve seen friends nurse for a long time, and others barely try it.  And again, I make NO judgements here!  :)

So, tell me…what worked for you?  Did you use formula, nurse, or a combo?  I’d love to know what you think about this!
Ellie

PS—Is it Friday yet?  :)

I agree with you Ellie.  This is definitely a hot button topic.  I knew when I was pregnant with my son that I wanted to breastfeed him as long as I could.  Unfortunately, when I gave birth to my son my milk had not had the chance to come in yet and that caused a problem.  My son was dealing with low blood sugar since I am a diabetic and they couldn’t wait much longer to feed him and I didn’t want them to wait seeing as though he was so hungry.  They tried feeding him through a syringe to keep him from getting use to the nipple on the bottle, but he wasn’t getting the milk that he needed.  I was pumping my heart out trying to get my milk to come in and wasn’t getting a single drop… ok maybe a few drops, but not enough to fill his tummy.  The nurses thought that perhaps if I could get him to latch on then it would help, but he wasn’t too into that.  So, after I was released from the hospital I decided to pump once my milk came in and feed my breastmilk to him with a bottle.  I did that for about 3 months, but soon realized that I was missing out on all of the feedings and that special time of bonding with my son.  You see - every time I was pumping Cameron was being bottle fed by my husband so, I never got to feed him because I had to stay on top of the pumping to avoid other problems.  Luckily, once my milk came in I was able to get a freezer full of breastmilk and we used all of that up til I couldn’t take it anymore.  I wanted to experience that special feeding time and bond with my child and I guess that is when I decided to go to formula.  Not everyone can do the breastfeeding and if that is the case then you can’t fault them.  You decide what you want to do and go with it and hope that it is the best thing for your baby.  I feel as though I did what I could to give my son a healthy start and I think I did pretty good.  He is almost 19 months old and is smarter then other kids that are 2 or 3 years old.  He has a vocabulary that astounds me everyday and he is sometimes too smart for his own good (smile).  He is truly one amazing boy.  So, when I sit back and look at what I did.  I personally feel that both breastmilk and formula do the job….if you have the option to breastfeed (great), but if not then that is ok too.  Our children will grow up just fine either way - at least my little one has.

I intended to breastfeed from day 1. I went to breastfeeding classes and learned exactly how to breastfeed.

Or so I thought.

I am not going to go into great details but Hannah and I had trouble latching from the start. She would get so frustrated and cry…and then I would get frustrated and cry…

I had no clue if she was getting any milk because she wouldn’t stay latched etc…one night she was screaming because we were having troubles latching yet again. I got up and found the similac diaper bag and in it was a sample of formula. I had never been so relieved.

She gobbled it up and I was more relaxed because she was eating(plus I could SEE that she was eating)

Everything was great for us! She is a healthy almost 2 yr old who has been rarely sick.

I just wanted to point out that I DID feel extremely guilty for “giving up” as some people said…but now I don’t at all. It was what was best for all of us.

It bothers me personally when some people act like you are intentionally harming your child because your NOT breastfeeding.

I didn’t get a chance to see the segment but could you(or did you) do an equally long segment on how healthy formula is now? I mean, its come a long way in the last 30 years.

Just a thought.

this is such a hot-button issue for me i can’t even begin to tell you.  i don’t know how to comment without going on forever, but i’m going to try…

i had a “friend” tell me one time that i shouldn’t give my baby formula because that’s not what God intended.  my response: “God put feet at the bottom of your legs, not wheels, but you’re driving a car, right?“  she never bothered me again :)

i would love to see a segment on formula as well. 

~cena
http://www.realmomsrock.com

I have successfully nursed my daughter for over 21 months, and we are still going strong.

My milk didn’t come in for 5 days and we had to take our daughter to the ER for dehydration- in the waiting area, my milk decided to come in- all over my shirt!  From then on, things were much better. I was plagued with plugged ducts and had mastitis once. I also had surgery on my foot when she was 7 months old, and I had food poisoning twice during her first year. So we had our share of challenges!

I am also VERY proud to say that we are milk donors to the Mother’s Milk Bank of Ohio, which is here in Columbus. We have donated over 25 gallons of our priceless liquid gold. The milk is distributed by physician’s prescription to sick and premature babies across 25+ hospitals in many states and Canada.

Of course, nursing is a ‘hot button’. But reality is, there wasn’t a “choice” until just recently with man-made imitation human milk. I was formula fed as an infant as was my severely premature sister. I believe our health has suffered because of it. I personally am somewhat judgemental to moms who “choose” not to nurse. I feel like this is stripping the rights of the baby for the convenience of the mother. Parenting is not convenient. But breastfeeding truly is. I’m as lazy as can be, and breastfeeding has been a lifesaver- I don’t have to rummage around in the kitchen in the middle of the night, my daughter is rarely sick, she is growing beautifully, and I can comfort her “owies” and tantrums simply by offering a breast. I am fully comfortable nursing in public.

I do work full time outside the home, as well. I pumped at work (only recently stopping pumping) with no problems, obviously, since we were able to donate so much!

I realize that my experience may not be the ‘norm’.

However, I feel stronly that positive, successful examples of nursing, ‘extended nursing’, pumping, and milk donation need to be publicized.

Moms need to have a positive attitude to be successful at anything, but especially at breastfeeding. I’d never seen a woman nurse a baby until I did it myself. I had no role models to go to.

Also, there is a great breastfeeding community in Ohio. The Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition, La Leche League, Central Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition are just a few.