One year of breastfeeding

I cannot think about Jacob's birthday without thinking about this huge milestone. One year of breastfeeding my son. My goal. I've reached it. I cannot believe it. Before the 4 month mark, it seemed so unattainable. But I was determined- he would be breastfed until a year. No formula. Because breast is best, and he will have the best.

Breastfeeding has been the hardest, most painful thing I have ever done. See here for the first 6 months of my journey. While the last 6 months has been easier, it certainly has not been smooth sailing the whole time. The last 6 months brought us distraction, biting, and nursing strikes. But we pushed through. However, I must say- for the most part, these past 6 months of nursing have been WONDERFUL. And having had such a rocky start, I don't take a single nursing session for granted. I enjoy them and stroke his hair and think about how lucky I am to be doing this.

And he is lucky too, even though he doesn't know it. I truly believe in the benefits of breastmilk. There are so many, and they will last his whole life- reducing his chances for certain types of cancer, scoring higher on tests, reducing his chances of obesity, etc. But I believe that even this first year, I have already witnessed the benefits. He had never been sick at all until about 10 months, when he got a very minor cold. Nothing more than a runny nose, really. He didn't even feel bad, ate and played like normal. Then, at 11 and 1/2 months, he got his first "real" sickness. Bronchiolitis. A lung infection caused by a virus. At home I read the sheet the doctor gave me on this illness, noting that the bad cough and wheezing typically lasts 2-3 days. For Jacob- one day. That is all. More like one afternoon, really. I couldn't believe how quickly it went away. Obviously I will never know for sure, but I have to believe the breastmilk helped. Breastfed babies tend to get over sicknesses sooner.

I must add, how you feed your baby is such a personal decision. It is not something you should ever have to justify, and what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another. But I know that for ME, and for my son, this was absolutely the right choice.

Now that he is a year old, the most frequent question I hear is "when are you going to wean?". And here is my answer- not right now. I don't know when, but not now. There are so many benefits to extended breastfeeding, and as my lactation consultant puts it- the benefits of breastfeeding don't end just because they turn one. Jacob doesn't want to stop, I don't want to stop, he is still benefiting from the breastmilk- so why stop? And why put a time line on it? When we are ready to stop, we will.

I have learned so much over this past year, and I'd like to add my personal breastfeeding advice. This is for new moms, but also for me, so I can look back here when it comes time to breastfeed the next baby!

-Take a class while you are pregnant! Not only will it teach you things that you really need to know (and I would never have known!), but they spent probably the first 10 minutes or so going over all the benefits of breastmilk. It is a huge motivator. I already knew I wanted to breastfeed, but after taking the class and hearing all the benefits, I thought- how could I NOT? Women who take a breastfeeding class are more likely to be successful (though I cannot find the percentage)

-The beginning is hard. No way around that. You have to nurse each and every time- no bottles, no supplements. This is so important for establishing a good supply. Just remember that this beginning stage does not last forever. They eat all the time and take forever to eat. Jacob used to take 30-45 minutes! By the time he was 2 months old, he got a whole feeding in about 5-8 minutes. It gets better. It really does.

-DON'T PUMP in the beginning! This can make an oversupply problem even worse. Your body is trying to figure out how much milk to make to feed your baby. Let it adjust.

-A good latch is ESSENTIAL! Get it checked early by a lactation consultant in the hospital. Don't accept anything less than a perfect latch from your baby. Take them off and re-adjust as many times as necessary. It is frustrating, but they are learning too and you don't want them to learn the wrong latch.

-See a lactation consultant at the first sign of trouble. They will save you. And make sure it is a good one. We didn't like the ones at the hospital (hopefully they don't come across this blog! haha). Find one you like and go as often as you need.

-These items will be your best friends: a good nursing cover that goes around your neck and has boning (udder covers, bebe au lait, etc.), those soothie gel pads (I forget what they're called), breast pads, My Brest Friend (I personally prefer it over boppy), a good pump

-Nursing is hard, it is something you have to work at, it is not at all "natural", and it will be quite a while before you feel that special bond. But it is worth it. So worth it.