It's been a LONG time! My little boy is now 6 MONTHS OLD. How crazy. It's not as if I'm that busy either....I just have...
reality tv to watch more important things to do? :)
I thought I'd do a post about nursing...because I have a few friends/family that now have babies, or will be.
Did I always plan on nursing my little guy, until he was at least 1? YES.
Do I know that it is definitely the best option, the healthiest, most cost-effective way to feed your child? YES.
Did I find out that sometimes, even situationally, it isn't for everyone? YES.
I quit nursing( it was half and half most of the time anyway) when Ash was 8 weeks old. Although I realized that many people would be aghast at how I could do such a thing...let me tell you why.
Ash absolutely hated it. I had one side that made milk, and one that didn't. The one that didn't would still hurt, and for a long time I thought it did make milk. It didn't. Poor little guy was sucking on a one-sided straw.
My living situation was not conducive to a "nursing" environment. We lived with our in-laws for 3 months, during which time I was 9 months preggo, to Ash being two months old. Although those times were the BEST, because we were able to save so much money and live in the home that we are in now, it made nursing nearly impossible. We had constant visitors, which I LOVED, but also didn't feel like whopping it all out there, in front of...my inlaws and friends. Call me weird? I know some people do, and I completely RESPECT that, because I was a little too proud in that regard. Not to mention, that your girls do NOT look the same during pregnancy or after childbirth, and can frankly be a little frightening to the untrained eye ;)
After I stopped completely, Asher immediately slept throught the night. For the first time, the boy actually had a full stomach! He never spit up again either. He wasn't fussy anymore and finally seemed happy. For us, we found what worked best.
For a while I struggled, because there is SO much pressure to breastfeed, and you feel like a failure if you don't. I want others to know that, hey, if it doesn't work out....WHO CARES!! It is ok! Your child can and probably will be just as healthy, smart, athletic, or whatever you want them to be, as anyone else's kid. You can still bond with your baby and love them, without their mouth attached to you. Don't feel bad.
For those of you, probably most of you, that have nursed....I really look up to you and do feel that for YOU, you made the right decision. It is all about what makes us happy, our kiddo happy, and is best for our familial situation.
I hope next time, that I have a situation and kiddo that definitely make nursing easier. I'd love to be able to with my next child. But I also get now, that it is 100% ok if that is not the case. The only person I need to listen to when raising my little one is ME.
