The Showdown (or, Why I Love Breastfeeding)

Ok, this might be too much info for some of you. I'm turning into one of those La Leche League women. You know the type: lifting up their shirts in public to nurse, and continuing to do so until their baby is not a baby anymore. Oh, and they probably think they're better than you for it. I used to think these ladies were super crazy. I decided to breastfeed my little one for lots of reasons (we'll get into those in a minute) but I totally understood why someone would choose not to. Over the last few months with Little Man, however, I've decided that breastfeeding is far superior to formula and bottles. Last night, I gave Little Man a bottle (of expressed breast milk, of course) before bed. My midwife warned me to make sure to keep him in the habit of taking a bottle over the summer; otherwise, he might not take one again when we go back to school. He starting eating from it, but then he started acting strangely. He was wiggling, and turning his head, and pushing me away with his hands. (Now that he can grab things, he can also push things away.) Figuring that this was a response to the bottle, I decided I had to stand my ground. He was not going to nurse, even if it meant he went to bed without a full belly and woke me up in the middle of the night. The stage was set for a showdown. And sure enough, Little Man woke me up at 2:45, just as I'd predicted. I tried the bottle again, and he took about an ounce, then started refusing it again. Acting on a hunch, I got another, fresher bottle (the one I'd been trying was out of the freezer). He sucked it down with no complaining whatsoever. So much for my showdown, huh?

While I was feeding Little Man this bottle last night, my love of breastfeeding was cemented even further. Bottles are such a pain! While my baby was crying, instead of just unsnapping my bra and snuggling him up to me, I had to 1) fill up a mug with water and put it into the microwave to heat, 2) put bottle in said hot water to warm the bottle (this take several minutes)and then, 3) hold my baby in an upright position with only one hand, since the other is holding the bottle. Very uncomfortable. Last night was especially bad, because I had to do the whole thing twice.

So now that I've told you all about why I hate bottle feeding, let me expound a little further on why I love breastfeeding so much. Some of these reasons I knew about before Little Man was born and some of them I discovered later.
1. It's free! Do you know how much formula costs?? I think its, like, a bazillion dollars or something.
2. It's super convenient. Just lift and unsnap. And you never run out of it, its always the perfect temperature, there are no bottles and nipples to sterilize. Can you imagine going through that ordeal that I described above 6-8 times a day? True, no one else can breastfeed for you. And sometimes you have to banish yourself to a mother's room or dressing room somewhere. These are small details to me now.
3. The bonding that you hear people talk about really is wonderful. While I'm nursing Little Man, there is a real connection that we have. Its a truly beautiful thing.
4. Its super good for the baby. It's the perfect nutrition, plus it gets them used to different flavors so they will (supposedly) be less picky when they get older.
5. It's super good for mom. Did you know that women that breastfeed have a lower incidence of breast cancer? It makes perfect sense, but somehow this information isn't really "out there." I think its a cover-up, master minded by the formula companies.
6. It really does help mom lose the baby weight faster. I'm fitting into things I haven't fit into in over a year. Of course, the instant I found out I was pregnant, my butt got huge, so there are lots of things I haven't fit into in a long time.

So do you think the La Leche League will accept my application?