Mommin' It Up!

To me, there’s nothing sweeter than a nursing baby, especially a nursing newborn. I was reminded of this last week when I went to visit my friend and her nine-day-old girl, who was nursing when I arrived. She was perfectly contented, still, and serene, getting nutrition, love, and comfort from her mama.

I remember one of the first times I nursed Joshua. I was out of it and in a lot of pain from my emergency C-section. My husband had to help me hold the baby up. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful memory. Bobby and I still laugh about the funny noise Joshua made and how he moved his head back and forth so frantically trying to get latched on. He knew what he was supposed to do and he wanted so badly to do it! His little hands kept getting in the way, and eventually Bobby had to wrap him up to keep him from flailing about in anticipation. His instincts just amazed me and I was inspired to do everything I could to meet his needs.

With my daughter Sophia it was challenging to keep her awake for a feeding. Once again my husband helped, tickling her cheek or stroking her palm to keep her nursing when she’d start to doze. When we got her home, she nursed a lot more often than my son had. Nursing her constantly was tiring but once again I loved being able to meet her needs myself, and I loved bonding with her so often. She’s still, at eight months old, a devoted Mommy’s girl. She sometimes is a very serious nurser, and other times she’s silly, blowing razzberries and tweaking my nose when she’s nursing. She also loves to try and open my eyes if I’ve got them closed while I’m feeding her. I love that I am her plaything and playmate all the time, even when feeding.

I’m so thankful for the minutes and hours I’ve spent one-on-one with these two beautiful children. In the middle of the night, at the mall, in the park, at the restaurant, and yes, even in the parking lot of the porno theater, it’s always a privilege to nurse my baby!

We hear a lot about the benefits babies get from breastfeeding, but this morning we ran across a list of the ways that moms benefit from it as well. Since we here at Mommin’ It Up are in favor of things that are good for moms, we thought we’d pass this along.

7 WAYS BREASTFEEDING BENEFITS MOTHERS
(From www.askdrsears.com)

What’s good for baby is also good for mother. When mothers follow nature’s lead and breastfeed their babies, their own bodies benefit–so do their budgets!

Reduces the risk of breast cancer. Women who breastfeed reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 25 percent. The reduction in cancer risk comes in proportion to the cumulative lifetime duration of breastfeeding. That is, the more months or years a mother breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast cancer.

Reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer. One of the reasons for the cancer-fighting effects of breastfeeding is that estrogen levels are lower during lactation. It is thought that the less estrogen available to stimulate the lining of the uterus and perhaps breast tissue also, the less the risk of these tissues becoming cancerous.

Lessens osteoporosis. Non-breastfeeding women have a four times greater chance of developing osteoporosis than breastfeeding women and are more likely to suffer from hip fractures in the post-menopausal years.

Benefits child spacing. Since breastfeeding delays ovulation, the longer a mother breastfeeds the more she is able to practice natural childspacing, if she desires. How long a woman remains infertile depends on her baby’s nursing pattern and her own individual baby.

Promotes emotional health. Not only is breastfeeding good for mother’s body, it’s good for her mind. Studies show that breastfeeding mothers show less postpartum anxiety and depression than do formula-feeding mothers.

Promotes postpartum weight loss. Breastfeeding mothers showed significantly larger reductions in hip circumference and more fat loss by one month postpartum when compared with formula-feeding moms. Breastfeeding mothers tend to have an earlier return to their pre-pregnant weight.

Costs less to breastfeed. It costs around $1,200 a year to formula-feed your baby. Even taking into consideration the slight increase in food costs to a breastfeeding mother, the American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that a breastfeeding mother will save around $400 during the first year of breastfeeding.