Why breastfeeding was the best choice for us.

Today I realized that we may be closer to the end of breastfeeding then I thought. While I have a million reasons to be sad about that, I am only feeling happiness. My son is 15.5 months old now, and considering our beginning to breastfeeding, I am thrilled to have made it this long. If you haven’t already done so, please check out my story about beginning breastfeeding at my other blog Simple Gift – Stories from Breastfeeding mamas.

Breastfeeding wasn’t easy for me, and I realize there are many situations when breastfeeding isn’t possible. Whatever your choice for not doing it, I would never judge you. My theory on parenting choices is two fold – Your baby, your body, your choice. And Happy Momma = Happy Baby. Please know this is not a post about formula vs. breastfeeding. This post is about me, and my baby and our choice to breastfeed. For me, Breastfeeding was the route I wanted to go, and best for both Squish and Me.

There are many benefits of breastfeeding. Here are the ones that have made breastfeeding such an amazing experience for us.

1. The bonding time was/is indescribable. The first time he smiled at me while nursing, or the way he would touch my face, play with my hair, or simply just stare at me. The softness of his skin and hair that I got to stroke as he ate in the wee hours of the morning. Those are moments I would not trade for anything in the world.
2. I suffered from Migraines prior to getting pregnant. Once I got pregnant my migraines all but disappeared. I feared after I had Squish they would return, but they didn’t (well I have had 3-4 since getting pregnant, but not nearly as severe or often as they used to be.) When I asked my OB about it, she told me it was the chemicals released during pregnancy and by breastfeeding those chemicals continued to keep my migraines at bay.
3. While I didn’t lose my baby weight right away, I did lose all of it in a decent amount of time, with not dieting. I did start to change my eating habits after I had lost the baby weight, but the initial lose I attribute to breastfeeding.
4. I love the convenience of breastfeeding. Once I got comfortable with it, and figured out what worked for us, I never looked back. Not to mention the money saved.
5. For me, breastfeeding didn’t keep illness at bay. Squish was sick plenty. But we never did have any ear infection issues, and when he was sick I knew that I could always turn to breastfeeding as a source of comfort.
6. Finally, (well there are many more things I loved about breastfeeding, and things that made it clear it was the best choice for us) but I loved that for 7 months my Squishy thrived on only my breast milk. He was constantly at the top of the growth charts. There was a real sense of accomplishment knowing I was able to satisfy my son’s nutritional needs.

While I don’t think breastfeeding for us will end tomorrow, or next week, I can tell that the end is close. Squish is down to 2 nursing sessions a day. One in the am, and one before bed, and honestly he could easily drop the bedtime nursing. I am so glad I stuck it out, and pushed through the hard times in the beginning. The moments I nursed my son are moments that will be with me forever.

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