Not as easy as it sounds (The Breastfeeding Debate)

Member Name: Shellywelly

Product:	The Breastfeeding Debate
Date:	30/09/08 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, beneficial to baby

Disadvantages: not easy for everybody

As soon as I fell pregant I knew instantly I would breast feed my baby. I had read all the information and wanted to give my baby the best start in life.

Breastmilk gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps protect them from infection and diseases. It also reduces mothers' chances of getting certain diseases later in life. Breastfeeding also allows you and your baby to get closer - physically and emotionally. So while your child is feeding, the bond between you can grow stronger.

The other reasons why I wanted to breast feed was to save money, help me loose some of the baby weight, help my babys immune system and for ease, ie no bottles to mix or steralise and no milk to warm in the middle of the night.

I had ready every book available and assumed I was throughly prepared.

But my baby wasn't as prepared as me!! we tried the routing technique, tried different positions but he struggled to latch on. we tried this for 3 days, my baby seemed starving, I rang up the midwife and she said to keep trying and stay calm. I tried again and was getting into a state, my mum advised I tried a breast pump, after 30 mins I had managed to express about 1/4 of a oz. Now I know why my son was so starving!! My mum whizzed out to the shop came back with the neccesary goods for bottle feeding, I fed my baby and he was content for the first time since birth, he drank the whole bottle and slept for a few hours. The next day my midwife weighed my baby he had lost over 1lb of weight in 4 days. I found my midwife seemed dissapointed in me.

I met my health visitor 10 days after birth she offered to help me try with breast feeding again but buy this time I felt my son was happy being bottle fed. When my son was a few weeks old he had terrible colic and I did feel guilty that I had not perserveed longer or tried again.

I do still feel breast is best, but there are too many people thinking of this as such a easy thing, its not as easy as it sounds, many people say that before formula came out everyone breast fed but that isnt true, even then some people couldn't brest feed and they did cross feeding instead.

Summary: If you can manage it then its great for baby, but too much pressure when you can't.