Got Milk
Boobs are the best, put the formula to rest! You're probably feeling like a cow right now with all that milk in your breast but it is for a good cause. When your little one is born, he or she needs help fighting off viruses until they can get their first round of vaccines. Breastmilk is natural, and has more benefits than formula. Formula is man made, and majority of it has cow's milk protein which your baby can be allergic to. Formula can also easily have bacteria in it. Breastmilk has antibodies that pass from mother to child that helps strengthens the immune system which fights off infections and diseases. You can tell there is a difference between breastmilk and formula by the appearance and smell of your baby's poop. Breast fed babies' poop smell better and it's not as thick as formula fed babies. Breastmilk is easily digested than formula, babies that exclusively breastfeed eat more frequently than formula fed babies.
Saves Money & Time
Not only is breast milk healthier but it is completely free! When you exclusively breastfeed you save lots of money since formula is expensive. There's no need to buy a lot of bottles because you'll be breastfeeding majority of the time. If you barely use bottles then you really won't need a bottle warmer or a bottle sterilizer which saves you more money. You also save time and countless trips to the kitchen at night time to make bottles. Even if you feed your baby pumped breast milk from a bottle, it can stay good for 6 to 8 hours while formula can only sit out for a hour. Also, when you're out and about you don't need to worry about the extra baggage of bottles and formula.
Protects & Helps Development
Everyone likes to save money and time, but I think a lot of people love to protect their babies and help them develop even more. Breastfeeding your newborn helps protect them from SIDS(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Breast milk is known for helping babies sleep better at night time. It helps develop their brain, and improves their breathing and swallowing. It also helps their jaw and tongue muscles develop more efficiently than bottle feeding since it is harder to breastfeed because the milk doesn't easily flow out of the mother's nipples. Breast milk can be used to help cure ear and eye infections and also the common cold.
Shrinks The Uterus Back Down
A lot of women always want to "snap back" after giving birth to their child. I get lots of questions on how I lost my baby weight(which took a while). People were surprised that I didn't snap back like the next day, it actually took almost 2 months to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Little do they know the main key to snapping back after giving birth is breastfeeding and drinking lots of water. Breastfeeding helps shrink the uterus back down to it's size by contracting the muscle. All of that isn't going to happen without water. Without water, your muscles can't work how they're suppose to and you need water to produce breast milk. I also use my It Works ultimate body applicator wraps and defining gel to help tighten and tone my tummy, and their stretch mark cream to get rid of dark spots and stretch marks. If you want to know more about the It Works products you can email me, message me on any of my social media outlets or go to my website(www.AdoreDonnie.MyItWorks.com). So if you're not exclusively breastfeeding, you can use the body wraps or work out along with drinking lots of water to help you lose pregnancy weight.
It Takes Team Work
There are many benefits from breastfeeding your baby. However, it is not easy to exclusively breastfeed and it is not that convenient like formula feeding. It can be hard for your baby to latch-on your nipple. It takes a team effort to make it work, so just be patient and don't get frustrated. It took maybe a week and a half before I started exclusively breastfeeding. my milk didn't fully come in until 2 days after I gave birth and Adora only liked eating from one breast. So I went back and forth between pumping my breastmilk to bottle feed her and formula until we got breastfeeding down.
Breastfeeding Problems
You might suffer from cracked nipples or mastitis, which is an infection of the breast tissue. Any type of infection is not fun and cracked nipples can be painful, especially if you're bleeding from them. If you ever have cracked nipples; you can rub nipple cream(like Organic Nipple Balm by Honest Company), coconut oil, or your breastmilk to help heal the cracks and soothe the pain. If you end up having mastitis, you can breastfeed to flush the infection out or get medicine from your doctor. Another breast issue you might run into is engorged breast, which happens when you have a lot of milk that you need to release. You can breastfeed or pump the milk out. You can also take a hot shower or put a hot washcloth over your breast to help with the pain and release the milk.
That's not all you might run into with breastfeeding. Whenever you hear your baby crying or he/she is hungry your milk will let-down because of a hormone called oxytocin. It's basically when your breast ejects milk and it can be very painful(you'll get use to the pain) to the point you just want to clench your teeth but it goes by fast and it is actually very useful. Whenever my milk lets-down that lets me know that it is time to feed my baby girl. Your breast will leak! So say bye bye to just throwing on a pretty bra. First you'll need a nursing bra, which makes it easier to breastfeed. You'll also need nursing pads to put in between your nipple and your bra to catch the leaks...or you can just ruin your clothes.
Watch What You Consume
If you thought you can eat and drink whatever you want after you give birth to your baby..think again! Whatever you eat and drink still goes to your baby through your breastmilk. This is one reason why people hate breastfeeding because it can still feel like they're pregnant. You also need to be careful with what kind of medicines you consume, this also goes for birth control. If you decide to take birth control after giving birth then you need to take the mini pill which is progestin only or some type of birth control along those lines so your milk supply won't dry out. However, people do say breastfeeding is a natural form of birth control. It can be hard to get pregnant if you're breastfeeding 24/7 but still take birth control to be on the safe side. Always let your physicians know that you are exclusively breastfeeding before they do an operation or give you any type of medication.
Pros to Formula
As you can see, breast are the best for babies and even for you. You and your baby will also have an incredible bond from all the skin-to-skin contact. But it's not always easy and a lot of people love how convenient it is to formula feed. When you formula feed anybody can feed him or her, and you don't have to worry about pumping and freezing milk. You don't have to worry about nipple confusion, or the baby using you as a pacifier. You can also drink and eat whatever you want when you formula feed. So momma bear, it is up to you whether or not you want to breastfeed or use formula. The most important thing is to not let your baby starve.
Don't Give Up, You Got This!
I will say this though..if you really want to exclusively breastfeed your baby, don't give up and be patient. If you're not producing enough milk you can eat healthier and drink more water, take supplements like Fenugreek, or pump after every time you breastfeed because the more your milk lets-down it tells your brain/body to produce more milk. You can get help from a lactation consultant if you're having problems with getting your baby to latch on or any other problems you may have with breastfeeding. You can always breastfeed and formula feed at the same time also, you don't have to choose just one. If you're serious about only giving your baby breast milk, you can exclusively pump milk for your baby then give it to them in a bottle or get breast milk from a donor. So good luck momma bear and get to milking!
xoxo - Adore Donnie