World Breastfeeding Week

I had no idea there was a World Breastfeeding Week, until I saw a post on Canape's blog. I'm glad there is one, so I thought help spread the word.

I've become very passionate about breastfeeding over the last 4 years. Before I had kids, I never really thought much about it. When I got pregnant with Thomas, I figured I'd give it a try and if it worked out, great, if not no big deal. At that time, I didn't have a lot of support or people around me who breastfed very long. Really the only people I knew who breastfed only did it for a max of 3months, so that was my goal. I had it in my head that I wanted to stop before returning to work b/c I thought it would be too hard to pump at work. Thomas wouldn't latch on right so we had to use a nipple shield and I honestly didn't enjoy it at all. So I started giving him formula around 1mo and weaned him totally right before I went back to work at 3mo. At the time I was totally fine with my decision, but now I regret not trying harder.

I think support is so important, like Michelle said in her blog about this. When I had Griffin, I felt like I had more support. Erica had just had Gavin a few months earlier and was still breastfeeding him. She didn't have any of the issues I had with Thomas and made it seem so easy. So I was determined to make it longer. Griffin ended up having the same latching issues that Thomas had. I was set on not using a nipple shield with him so I tried everything in the hospital first, then when he lost a pound I gave in so that I wouldn't have to start formula. It was a struggle and I still didn't enjoy it for awhile, but I was determined. I made small goals for myself. I ended up making it to 6months with no formula, but I had to start supplementing some at that point because I couldn't pump enough at work to keep up. We ended up making it to 13 months when he self-weaned.

When I had Lucas, I was really excited about breastfeeding again because I knew I could do it and enjoy it even if there were issues in the beginning. And I had an awesome online support system. Lucas totally surprised me by being a great nurser right from the beginning! I was all set just to go straight to the nipple shield assuming it was a problem with me, but I didn't need to. We are still going strong at 13 months, although he is really easily distracted now. He is drinking some whole milk out of a cup now and we will soon start slowly weaning. I'm proud (especially for my wallet!) that he never had to have any formula.

I know breastfeeding isn't for everyone and some people have real issues that prevent them from doing it. But I'm so glad that I gave it another chance after my first negative experience. The comments can be annoying, but I find that offering people (especially family) some information about the benefits usually shuts them up pretty quick. I never thought I would be, but I'm definitely a huge breastfeeding advocate now!