loopyloulaura

This week is World Breastfeeding Week. I have already written about my own breastfeeding journey and focused this week on supporting mums because breastfeeding is NOT EASY!

Today I am thinking about the highs and lows of breastfeeding from a personal and hopefully slightly humorous perspective 🙂

The health benefits
As well as protecting against cancer and giving immunity to the baby, breastfeeding burns up calories so it is easier to get back in shape after having a baby. The downside is avoiding wine and caffeinated drinks, an essential for sleep deprived mums! Although admittedly also healthier…

The peace and quiet
The joy of being able to stick your boob in the baby’s mouth and the instant silence. I got through so many books and TV shows while breastfeeding, it was heaven! It’s a lovely opportunity to relax.

Shame about the other kids running amok… Plus then having to whisper tell off the others so you don’t wake up baby 🙁 Then the mum guilt attacks: guilt about feeling lazy, guilt about spending not enough time with the others, guilt about not focusing on baby, guilt about the housework (yes really!)

The inventiveness and skill development
Going to the toilet, making coffee, taking notes in a meeting writing with the wrong hand, wiping a child’s bum, running around with a wet wipe instead of actual cleaning, cooking a meal, doing homework, blogging. All possible whilst breastfeeding. Hurrah! 🙂 Of course then you are described as superwoman/supermum and that is a lot to live up to when you are having a crappy day and the multitasking doesn’t go to plan.

The hideously vain reason
I finally had an impressive bosom! After years of being flat chested, I managed to fill a bra! Yowsers!

The problem with that is that after a feed you get a bit wonky 🙂 I won’t mention how boobless I am now 3 kids later… 🙁

Emotions and smugness
Strong bond, good attachment etc and that’s just me! But also Zach did this kind of half smirk smug face when he got his own way which was cute but really annoying.

So despite the mastitis, the engorgement, feeling like a milk machine and losing all sense of my own identity, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It is lovely and terrifying to be so relied upon and I felt completely useless once it had finished. Saying goodbye to the baby stage for probably the last time was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.

My final thought is that breastfeeding is amazing, difficult and has problems but my own experiences were overwhelmingly positive. All 3 of my children were combination fed successfully, allowing others to create a bond and giving me the option of a break (zzz…). Good luck to all mums out there, however you are feeding.