It's also been that long that I have been breastfeeding her. It was not easy at first. There were hurdles along the way, one of which was I have inverted nipples.That didn't stop me though from giving the best gift I believe I could give my precious one. Looking back, I never thought we would come this far. It was the best decision I have made as a new mom.
1. Giving birth is not a walk in the park, specially if it took you long hours of labor before the baby came out. In my case, it took 19 hours and I delivered via C-section which was not the original plan. That means, hubby and I were both lacking in sleep, very tired and just wanted to get some rest. Long intro, huh? What does it have to do with breastfeeding then? If you've chosen to breastfeed, you and (hubby too) would get that much needed rest. Why? You (and/or again, hubby) don't need to get up at the wee hours of the night just to prepare milk or formula which by the way is a long and tedious process (for me). You have to sterilize the bottles, boil the water and make sure that the milk temp is just right before you give it to your baby. When you're breastfeeding your newborn, you don't have to wake up the hubby, it would just be you and baby, thus hubby can rest. As for you mom, you just stay on the bed with baby and let her properly latch on to you. I don't think you'll get so tired with that, right? :)
2. One of the things I love and will always cherish is the bonding time I have with my baby every time I breastfeed her. It's really different from the bonding time you have when you play with her or other activities you do with her. The first time I breastfed her, it was such a magical moment. I couldn't help but cry. It was like I was beholding a miracle. I, looking at her while she was sucking for the very first time. It was like, "wow'! Until now, I still feel that special bond that we have. :)
3. Health benefits. My li'l fashionista had her first cold only after she turned 1. That was also the first time she had fever. Can you believe that? And even if she's feverish at that time, you just couldn't tell. Do you know why? Because she's just as active as she could be. She would dance, play, chat with me and Daddy and do other activities which would say that the baby was very well (her body temp reached 38C and she was fine). Of course, it was by God's grace and mercy towards us. I also believe that it was because I was (and still am) breastfeeding her that made her body strong. I can cite lots of testimonies regarding the health benefits of breastfeeding but I still have other benefits to mention. Maybe some other time in my future posts, I will go into details. :)
4. If you will notice, I always use "li'l fashionista" when I refer to my baby. It's because she is. Mind you, I didn't teach her to be like that, she's just that. Hold your thought right there. I'm not saying that if you breastfeed your baby, she would become a little fashionista. NO! That's not what I meant. What I mean is, breastfeeding your baby makes her feel more loved and therefore she is more confident about herself. Our li'l fashionista at a very young age knows what shoes to put on if she's wearing this kind or that kind of clothes/dress. She doesn't feel intimidated if others are wearing dresses while she's just wearing pants. She's confident to wear "print on print". She looks at the mirror and says, "Mommy, nice." She even "styles" me. One time, I was wearing a black blouse with a touch of purple. I was planning to wear my brown wedge with gold stones/accents. She then called my attention and said, "Mommy, no. Ayo (Ayaw) baby. No shues (shoes. that is the brown wedge). Dis (This, that is the ballet flat shoes with a purple ribbon) Mommy shues." My hubby and I were like, "Wow!" Again, more stories about this but I have to reserve them for future posts. :)
5. When you get pregnant, you gain weight, right? And sometimes it's so hard to go back to the pre-pregnancy figure. Breastfeeding helps you with that in a breeze. Haha! Easy peasy, as they say. I lost about 10 or 20 lbs a week after I gave birth. No kidding! (Note: Of course, after two years, I started to gain weight because I was urged by my mom to eat more so I can give more (breastmilk) to my baby without losing weight. Well, that's her opinion and I listen to her, heehee!) Right now, I'm just back to my pre-pregnancy weight (I was not really super thin before) but I'm looking forward to shedding some pounds in the not-so-distant future. Ha!
6. Breastfeeding is practical, convenient, and economical. :)
7. Breastmilk is... still the BEST for our babies! :)
Well, there you have it ladies (and gentlemen, if there are). These are just some of the benefits of breastfeeding and/or breastmilk. I could go on and on... And again, these are based on my personal experience. I trust that this gives light to those who are contemplating if they will breastfeed or not. I hope this post helps you decide. Whatever decision you come up with, please know that I respect you/it. :)
Happy breastfeeding! :)
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment