8 Things I Love/Hate about Breastfeeding

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As my youngest baby approaches the one-year mark, I have officially breastfed for two years of my life. Two years spent leasing out my body every three hours to a squishy, needy little human. Before becoming a Mom, I was terrified of breastfeeding. I read all the horror stories of cracked, bleeding nipples, babies who couldn’t latch, and sheer pain for weeks on end. Fortunately, I was one of those women for whom breastfeeding came easily. Both my babies have been great nursers and I have been immeasurably blessed to have employers who were very supportive of my needs as a breastfeeding Mama.

That being said, even though my journey was relatively easy, I still have a serious love/hate relationship with breastfeeding.

8 Things I Love/Hate About Breastfeeding

LOVE Fussy baby? Give ’em a boob. Seriously, there is nothing and I mean nothing, in my experience that cannot be solved by whipping out my boob for my crying baby. Shots? Give ’em a boob. Teething? (Cautiously) give ’em a boob. So sleepy they refuse to sleep? Give ’em a boob. Breastmilk is the magic elixir of infanthood.

HATE No drinks for this Mama. Some days having two under two is more than this lady can handle. And you know what is great for those days? WINE. Unfortunately, I will be enjoying no more than one glass. Formula Moms – I have never been more jealous than in these moments.

LOVE Oh, the bonding. When your baby is teensy, tiny and feels like such a stranger, there is nothing that will make your heart swell like the bond established through breastfeeding. 

HATE Pumping. Breast pumps had to have been invented by a man, amiright? Pumping is the absolute worst. In a choice between watching toddler cartoons for 24 hours straight and pumping, it would be a toss-up for me. It’s awkward, it’s time-consuming, it’s noisy. If you’re not able to exclusively breastfeed (and how many of us actually are?), you will be pumping. And most likely hating life while you do it.

LOVE Carrying your baby’s milk in your body is pretty dang convenient. When I’m out and about, I don’t have to worry about carrying bottles or containers of baby food. I’ve got everything my baby needs right here in my bra. There was a time when I was timid about breastfeeding in public. But after baby #2, there’s pretty much nowhere I won’t nurse.

HATE Leaking. I recently told my husband that one of the things I’m most looking forward to about being done with breastfeeding is not having to wear a bra to bed every night. Unless I want to wake up with my entire shirt soaked in breast milk, that is.

LOVE It’s cheap! When my supply began to plummet with my first baby, we looked into supplementing with formula. Fortunately or unfortunately my eldest son refused any and all formula, even mixed with breastmilk. Have you seen what a can of formula costs? As if buying diapers wasn’t pricey enough- that stuff is insane!

HATE Having no ownership over my body. For an entire two years, my body has belonged to someone else. My body couldn’t leave the house for more than 3-4 hours (without a pump). My body refuses to cooperate with my husband’s attempts at intimacy (that’s a whole other post in and of itself!). My body is the property of my hungry, ginger-headed baby. After 9+ months of leasing your body to another little human, you’re just plain over it.

Did you breastfeed? What did you love/hate about it?

7 COMMENTS

  1. Agree with everything in this article, but one thing…you can have a drink. I’m not saying you should go out and do some shots, but that glass of wine you want, go ahead and have it! My nurses in my baby class even told us it’s fine, just wait a few hours. And pumping and dumping is not even something that’s recommended now. Look into this more.
    BUT, I agree with you on everything else. ESPECIALLY pumping. That is the worst. I hate it and can’t wait for the day I no longer have to do it !

  2. i obviously have no experience with breastfeeding but i hope i can breastfeed my kids. the wearing the bra thing to bed seems like a deal breaker though 😉 lol that sounds horrible.

  3. I didn’t even try to breastfeed so kudos to you! I always got judged for it (because moms get judged for everything) but I honestly just didn’t want to for a lot of the above-mentioned reasons. People actually made comments when I mixed a bottle in public. Now I get judged because she acts like a brat in restaurants. It never ends. 🙂

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