Breastfeeding!

i have breastfed all 3 of my kids and people found it strange that i choose to breastfeed as i was 22 when i had my first i fed him for 6months second i was 24 and fed him for 9months and i had my third at 25 6months ago and im still breastfeeding her, i choose to because its free, its the best thing for a human baby and its easy! i loved the close bond and they cant say it prevents them sleeping through the night etc has my daughther slept through from 8weeks and still does now. also my SIL has a son 6weeks older that my second son and my son has alway done everything before her son not that its a competition but it just shows that it does make them more intelligent

i choose to breastfeed both my girls. the first was actually half breastmilk, half formula .. she had issues latching properly and so i pumped what i could and mixed it with formula for about 6 months (milk production dropped to nothing when i got pregnant with #2). baby #2 had very little forumla, and had no issues latching so for 6 months she got breastmilk. i dont really remember why we switched with her...i also plan on nursing baby #3 if that happens next year. also hoping to nurse for at least a year..
its soooo much easier for me - no fussing around with bottles in the middle of the night, just plop it out, and go back to sleep while they eat. my girls also both started sleeping through the night at about 8 weeks and they are both soooo healthy! i can count on one hand the number of times theyve been to the dr (other than for well child checkups) - and he tells me all the time that they are two of the healthiest kids he sees. my 5 year old started school this year with no preschool and her teacher was very surprised that she hadnt had any school experience, she was ahead of all the other kids. my 4 year old is already reading and doing more math than my 5 year old!

Don't listen to your family.... hang in there as long as you can!
The reasons I chose to breastfeed: to be honest, my first impulse was to do it because I had heard it helps get rid of "baby weight" faster. But the reasons I kept doing it (for two years with my first baby!) were: it's better for the baby, it's better for me, it's free, and it's way easier than dealing with bottles. Screw the people who give you weird looks (or even worse, rude comments). As far as I'm concerned anyone who thinks I'm "weird" when I'm just feeding my infant has a screw loose themselves.

I chose breastfeeding and although like you said, leaky breast can be embarrassing and there are times (gasp) that can be awkward, I never regretted the choice to breastfeed both of my children. My daughter who is now 18 years old and my son who is 16 years old, I believe, have been healthier and my relationships with them better because of it. The time spent breastfeeding was once described to me in this term: Take a cloth ruler, you know, one that you would use to measure your waist with. Roll that sucker out to your age in inches. So if you are 25 years old, roll it out to 25 inches and pinch it with one hand. Take your other hand and pinch off how long you think you might breast feed your baby. Six months? A year? Then look at the difference. Six months is only a half inch in the life of 25 years! Sometimes a visual representation will make you think beyond today, the embarrassing moment or whatever discomfort you have that you are the only mom in a group of 12 that chose to breastfeed. {{Hugs}} to you and your precious, beautiful baby!

I just wanted to add, if any family, friend, or random stranger ever makes a negative comment about you breastfeeding or suggests that you switch to formula and you want to shut them up, tell them your dr. strongly advises that you continue breastfeeding and you are going to follow their recommendations. There's not a lot of ways that someone can argue with 'dr's orders' w/o sounding silly.

If leaky nipples are becoming troublesome, invest in some absorbant breastpads. My favorites are made by Lansinoh and sold in a purple box, they are REALLY absorbant so you don't ever get leaks coming through your clothing, plus they are very thin and do not show when you're wearing them.

AND, if you happen to be in a situation where you qualify for WIC food assistance (U.S. social services program which helps supplement nutritional needs for Women, Infants, and Children - I believe there are income requirements but you can look that up online) - they will actually give you a larger amount of certain foods if you are breastfeeding, to help account for the extra nutrition you need to sustain it. If you CAN'T or decide NOT to breastfeed, they will give you vouchers to help out with formula costs. (beware, though, b/c many moms find that the amount they will give you is less than what their baby actually consumes, leaving you still having to purchase some formula yourself each month) But I think it's truly awesome that they will give extra foods for a breastfeeding mom. :-)

The biggest thing to be successful in breastfeeding (if you want to) is to educate yourself and surround yourself with support. For some women and their babies, it seems to come so naturally, but for others it's a learning process with quite a few bumps in the road. Read up ahead of time on proper positioning techniques, join a mommy group (online or in person) and talk with others about their experiences and suggestions (www.themommieshetwork.org has a LOT of groups that are based in various geographical locations around the U.S. so that you can try to connect with moms in your area - and it's free), maybe even check out a breastfeeding class or LaLecheLeague meeting so you can see nursing moms in action and ask questions in person. If you're going to deliver in a hospital, most of them have Lactation Consultants that you can request to come to your room after baby is born and help you out with any concerns. But preparing a big ahead of time can be really, really helpful, especially finding some other moms that have either breastfed before or are currently breastfeeding.

Yes it can be kind of painful in the beginning, sometimes that's due to baby not latching well or due to positioning, sometimes it's just b/c your nipples aren't used to that kind of action. LOL There are some products that can help ease the discomfort in those early weeks - if you want to go 'natural' consider keeping some olive oil on hand, it's soothing. If you're not worried about natural-ness LOL there are creams and gel patches that can help soothe things for you. Check out the breastfeeding section of the baby feeding aisle and consider picking up some nifty packs that can either be chilled in the fridge or warmed in the microwave - they can be really helpful during the early days when your milk is coming in (you might get engorged for a few days and the warm/cool packs can help soothe until it calms down).