Breastfeeding Support for New Moms
I was raised in a bottle and formula household. My mother was very vocal about how gross she thought nursing was. Going by what I was taught and lack of breastfeeding support, my oldest two children were not breastfed. I was clueless to the benefits of breastfeeding until we had our third child. To be honest, I started breastfeeding for selfish reasons: breast cancer prevention. My mother had stage four breast cancer while I was pregnant. During my research, I stumbled on information encouraging nursing to lower your risks.
For every 12 months of breastfeeding (either with only 1 child, or as the total period of time for several children), the risk of breast cancer decreased by 4.3%, compared to women who did not breastfeed. Risk decreased by 3.4% for each child breastfed, compared to women who did not breastfeed. This lower risk did not differ by women’s age, race, numbers of births, age at birth of first child, family history, or country of residence.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to breastfeed my little girl when she was born. After two months of trying, excruciating pain, and a baby who was dropping weight like crazy – I gave up. I was so disappointed. I didn’t think I would ever be successful at nursing a child. I wasn’t even producing enough to pump!
Just Because You Can’t Breastfeed One Child,
Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Try Again!
When our fourth child was born, I gained the courage to try breastfeeding again. I was very determined to get it right, and I DID! I was shocked at how easy it was for him. Only days-old, I was nursing him in my Moby while attending homeschooling functions! It was wonderful! Not having to carry around bottles of water and cans of formula was fantastic! I had no idea something I thought was terribly difficult could be so easy!
My husband on the other hand, did NOT take to me breastfeeding so well. He struggled to bond with our little boy who only wanted me. He became very upset that this child he adored wanted nothing to do with him.  He also didn’t care for me breastfeeding in public, even in the Moby – it was something that took a long time for him to become accustomed to.  To be honest, he wasn’t very supportive of breastfeeding at all. If I wasn’t as determined as I was, I probably wouldn’t have continued.
Benefits of Breastfeeding to Discuss with Your Spouse
There are a few benefits of breastfeeding that I rarely hear talked about. For me, breastfeeding forced me to slow down. I was once a mom who would prop a bottle as soon as the initial bonding was over. I was busy, I had lots of important responsibilities to take care of.  Now, my idea of propping is babywearing while nursing. Don’t worry, I won’t get into the benefits of babywearing in this post…. I’ll save that one for later (smile).
What do I mean?
When my littles are first born, nursing drained my energy! It seemed like the moment they latched on, I was instantly tired and thirsty.  I honestly feel like this is Mommy’s built-in reminder that she needs to sleep too! Nursing put me on a schedule for sleep I was never on before. It was a constant reminder 1) Have I had anything to drink lately? 2) Are you tireder than you think? If I were still a formula feeding mama, I never would have caught on to these cues from my body.
There is truly no greater bond than the one you create when you are nursing your baby! If someone had told my formula feeding younger self this, I would have thought they were being unfair and hurtful. But I am here to tell you – it is true!
Mother-baby Bonding through Breastfeeding
I love and adore my bigger bunch, but there are times I didn’t feel very connected to them. I feel like we are having to learn this because we failed to connect somewhere along the way. I don’t feel that with my youngest group at all. I am very connected to them. Some may say it is because I am now a stay at home mom.  Some may also account this to being older and more mature. While I’m sure those two do play a role, I strongly feel that I made a huge mistake in not breastfeeding my oldest bunch.
The secret to mother-baby bonding might be breast milk, according to new research that determines that breast-feeding mothers are more likely than formula-feeding moms to bond with their infants in the months after they’re born. They also demonstrate stronger brain responses when they hear their baby cry, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Read More Stories from the Boobies!
Are you considering breastfeeding? Do you want to know more about it? OR Do you need support from other nursing mothers? The ladies below have graciously allowed me to share their stories with you. These are stories of trusting your motherly instinct, determination, faith, and triumph through the trials!
- Encouragement for the First Time Mom: When Breastfeeding Isn’t Easy by Jamie for the Breastfeeding Place
- Breastfeeding Through Jaundice by To the Moon & Back.
- Breastfeeding Triplets:Â A Battle of Love by Jennifer at the Breastfeeding Place
- Breastfeeding in the NICU: When Things Don’t Go as Expected by Marla for Intoxicated on Life, Pursuing a Healthy Home Life
- Breastfeeding While Pregnant – My Experience by Joanie at Simple Living Mama
- Coping with Breastfeeding Guilt by Joanie at Simple Living Mama
- Breastfeeding….My Story with Nemo by Laura at Raising Soldiers 4 Christ
- Turning a Corner by Tori at We Keep Choosing Us
Thank you for sharing my story! 🙂
Great post. I did not breastfeed my first born I was young and moved around way to much to sit down and I was one that didn’t slow down. I had him on a Wed by C section and was in NC that next week Wed…and drove all the way there. I did try for my second baby but the pain was unbearable but I managed to pump for a while.
Great post on breastfeeding. I was able to nurse all three of my girls and will do the same for #4. It definitely makes you slow down, and you do have to find a special way for daddy to bond with the baby, but it’s totally worth it!
I wasn’t able to breastfeed my first. She just didn’t latch on and I was in too much pain so I had to give it up. Then my 2nd one latched on really well and we were doing so good but I never got enough milk in so I had to give it up. I feel like i missed out on time with my babies because we didn’t share those moments but there wasn’t much I could do about it. But they still keep on growing! 😉
I wish I was able to have breastfed. Unfortunately, 4 attempts with 4 kids – the boobies just didn’t agree…
Nursing was one of the hardest but most rewarding things that I have ever done. I plan on nursing lo when they are born next month!
You had me at “Saving $1700 on formula”… I don’t have kids, but hope to breastfeed when I do.
Breastfeeding didn’t go as I would have liked with my son. We ended up doing a combination and eventually had to move to formula. So I am a supporter of all moms feeding their children any way they have to because babies need to eat. But I do plan on giving breastfeeding a go with #2 (if she ever decides to make her debut)!
I was a breastfeeding mom of three kids over a span of three years. I loved the bonding moments during meal times. Everyone complemented me on being such a good mom, truth be told breastfeeding was very easy for me. Plus throw in saving money on formula, perfect choice for our family. And now all the statistics regarding cancer and breastfeeding. I encourage everyone to at least give it a try.
With my first son, breastfeeding didn’t work as well as I had hoped. I come from a family that always formula-fed, so I didn’t have much in the way of support. My son wasn’t latching on good, and I was overwhelmed by being a new mom AND trying to breastfeed. It was scary to know he lost a full pound in his first week, so I quickly switched to formula.
I plan to try again with my son that will be here next month. I feel better educated on the subject now, so hopefully things will turn out better!
Breastfeeding went very well for me and my son. The only problem was that I had enough milk to feed 3 babies.
What a wonderful post. I tried with my 1st unsuccessfully and with #2 I lasted 2 months. I’m from pretty much the same background- my mom was not happy I chose to try to breastfeed my first and with my 2nd it was a matter for him. My 2nd child only has a kidney so I felt it was important for me to nourish him as much as possibly for the colostrum and hopefully would take. I pumped some but my supply dried up very fast. I was sad but I’m happy that I did it as long as I could and that he’s healthy.
This was an awesome post. I breastfed both my kids. My daughter I didn’t nurse for long though. My milk wasn’t coming in fast enough. My son went until I think 10 months. I was glad I gave it a try because the only thing I ever heard about nursing was that it was nasty and that was from my mom. I think her views were formed because her nurse forced her to breastfeed my oldest brother. I think that experience made her see it that way. I however could have done either or but I tried it first before just saying I didn’t want to.
I had four children including a set of twins. I breastfed all my children for about 16 months and it was a great experience.
You would think breastfeeding would come naturally to all of us simply because we’re physically designed to feed our babies that way, but it’s so not true. Breastfeeding can really be a struggle for some, but many can work through the challenges and succeed like you did!
I didn’t breastfeed because it didn’t feel right for me but I think it’s nice that others can.
I did not really want to breast feed in the beginning. It happened to be very easy for me so I did it for all three of my kids. Looking back at it now, I am very glad that I did. 🙂
First thanks for sharing your story. I think so many women have gone through the same thing. I breasted all of my children. However, I didn’t breastfeed the twins for very long since I went back to work attended school. It was overwhelming. But with my last baby I took my time and loved it. Not carting around bottles and formula was awesome. Thank you for sharing your breastfeeding experience.
Thanks for linking up my post! I hadn’t met anyone who’d breastfed triplets before – but with a team of people (hubby, mom, Lactation Consultant, etc!!), here I am still breastfeeding all three at 25 months! :o)
Great post!!
http://growinguptriplets.com/2013/10/31/tips-bringing-babies-home-from-the-hospital/
Even though I have not had kids I am a big proponent of breast feeding. The benefits far outweigh the negatives and I am glad you have highlighted quite a bit of those.