For most moms, just before the birth of our children, we are faced with the major dilemma of to nurse or not to nurse. Breastfeeding is an individual choice and one that should be made prior to the arrival of your baby, if at all possible. If you decide beforehand, you can prepare yourself for all of the rebuttals you will need that will attempt to dissuade you from one of the most beautiful perks of motherhood - breastfeeding. I chose to nurse for various reasons, but at the top of the list were: economics, emotional bonding, and convenience. It was not easy to do, however, and if a very close friend hadn't warned me, I may have been very tempted to give up after the first few tries with my daughter. It seemed she just couldn't latch on and
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Just to be careful though, I also highly recommend wearing nursing pads in the beginning, at a minimum, until you get into a great pattern. Obstacle 3: I don't think my baby is eating enough! Don't worry; this is a concern you will face whether you nurse or not. All of us see other babies who are twice or child's size or they may be slightly larger or smaller. Don't worry! Each baby is different and you shouldn't expect to see the same growth for each child. However, there are recommended guidelines that you can use from the Academy of Pediatrics that indicates the number of soiled diapers that indicate if your child is feeding enough. You can also tell based on your child's mood. If your baby is grouchy a lot or seems to want to nurse "forever", he may be undernourished and you may want to discuss supplementation with your pediatrician. Be sure to keep all of your baby's appointments during their first year of life. This is critical to the child's health and well-being. It will also allay any fears you may have about the amount of feeding and nutrition that your baby is getting. Start here and enjoy this special bonding time with your baby. This is one of the most memorable times of motherhood, so relish and …show more content…
However, how you feed your baby is not as important as what you feed your baby. While choosing to give formula to your child does not make you a bad parent, I believe if more women knew about exclusively pumping as an option, they would opt to go this route. I knew early on that I was going to EP. there were several reasons that I chose this method. Before Mya was born, the main reason was so that my husband could share in the feeding duties of our daughter. He works nights and I work days so he would have to be able to feed her when I was not home. EP provided a way for this to happen. Once my daughter was born, it became more apparent that EP was for me. She was born 4 weeks early and had to spend her first 8 days in the NICU. I had to have an emergency c-section so my body needed to heal. Trying to breastfeed was almost impossible for two days after her birth. She needed to stay in the isolette and her breathing needed to be regulated. I pumped to bring my milk in and once it did come in, she had to be fed with a tube because her sucking reflex was underdeveloped. But there are many other reasons to chose EP. Maybe you have to go back to work right away. Or, maybe your baby was labelled Failure to Thrive after breastfeeding for several weeks. Maybe the idea of having your baby on your breast makes you feel uneasy. Whatever your reason, if you make the decision to
Just to be careful though, I also highly recommend wearing nursing pads in the beginning, at a minimum, until you get into a great pattern. Obstacle 3: I don't think my baby is eating enough! Don't worry; this is a concern you will face whether you nurse or not. All of us see other babies who are twice or child's size or they may be slightly larger or smaller. Don't worry! Each baby is different and you shouldn't expect to see the same growth for each child. However, there are recommended guidelines that you can use from the Academy of Pediatrics that indicates the number of soiled diapers that indicate if your child is feeding enough. You can also tell based on your child's mood. If your baby is grouchy a lot or seems to want to nurse "forever", he may be undernourished and you may want to discuss supplementation with your pediatrician. Be sure to keep all of your baby's appointments during their first year of life. This is critical to the child's health and well-being. It will also allay any fears you may have about the amount of feeding and nutrition that your baby is getting. Start here and enjoy this special bonding time with your baby. This is one of the most memorable times of motherhood, so relish and …show more content…
However, how you feed your baby is not as important as what you feed your baby. While choosing to give formula to your child does not make you a bad parent, I believe if more women knew about exclusively pumping as an option, they would opt to go this route. I knew early on that I was going to EP. there were several reasons that I chose this method. Before Mya was born, the main reason was so that my husband could share in the feeding duties of our daughter. He works nights and I work days so he would have to be able to feed her when I was not home. EP provided a way for this to happen. Once my daughter was born, it became more apparent that EP was for me. She was born 4 weeks early and had to spend her first 8 days in the NICU. I had to have an emergency c-section so my body needed to heal. Trying to breastfeed was almost impossible for two days after her birth. She needed to stay in the isolette and her breathing needed to be regulated. I pumped to bring my milk in and once it did come in, she had to be fed with a tube because her sucking reflex was underdeveloped. But there are many other reasons to chose EP. Maybe you have to go back to work right away. Or, maybe your baby was labelled Failure to Thrive after breastfeeding for several weeks. Maybe the idea of having your baby on your breast makes you feel uneasy. Whatever your reason, if you make the decision to