Exhausted Doesn't Touch It :) Nursing

Those of you who know me and my family... know the difficulties I had from the beginning of Ashton's life. He suffered from Traumatic Birth Syndrome and he passed meconium
 which resulted in him being in the NICU at a local hospital for right at a week. He looked so silly next to the many sub 4 pound babies in the NICU. Ashton was born at a whopping 7lb 14oz at 37weeks 3 days! He was almost 23 inches LONG! Anyways- from pregnancy, to birth, to the early days, nothing really came easy or naturally. I nursed him (which today I am very thankful for because he ended up having a pretty severe milk protein allergy). It took us close to two weeks to get in the habits of nursing and nursing well! But needless to say once he got the hang of it... well it was on! We pushed through my low milk supply, painful nursing (because he had a bad latch), and of course we battled one awful term of mastatis. ANYWAYS, needless to say- he became very attached to that part of the body. Ashton wanted to nurse 24/7 and I felt so guilty about having to go back to work at 5 weeks (one of which was spent in the hospital), I let him! I was set on letting him self wean and when his first birthday came and went I knew I needed to encourage him to let go... :) It was not fun but by 18 months he was completely weaned. Anyways- needless to say because this baby is only 3 years and 3 months apart from him I was not sure I was ready to take the plundge again when baby girl is born HOWEVER I have decided that I am going to indeed nurse- I may PUMP and feed her that way BUT after in depth research it is just to important not to do!

Alright nursing moms- did you do anything to build your supply during the end of pregnancy? Vitamins? Foods? Or did you worry about it post partum! Help me out! :)

TAKEN FROM http://www.lalecheleague.org/faq/advantages.html

Benefits for Baby

Chapter 18 of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, 7th Revised Edition, "Human Milk for Human Babies ," documents the benefits of breastfeeding such as the antibodies in it to protect the baby from illness. For example, a study in the Philippines showed that, "Deaths from respiratory infections and diarrhea were eight to ten times higher in babies who were artificially fed than in those who were even partiaully breastfed for six months " (THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, 7th Revised Edition, page 350). Breastfed babies have a decreased likelihood for allergies and dental caries. They also benefit from appropriate jaw, teeth and speech development as well as overall facial development. This means that people who were artificially fed may experience more trips to doctors and dentists

Benefits for Mother

Chapter 19 of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, "How Breastfeeding Affects a Mother," describes some of the physical benefits of breastfeeding for the mother such as reduced rates of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The time saved for mother is immense also. As a breastfeeding mother, you can feed your baby even during stressful times such as when normal supplies of food and water are not available.

Benefits for Employers

Breastfed babies are healthier babies; thus, mothers who are employed outside the home are likely to miss fewer days of work according to a study in the BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, 3rd Revised edition. on page 242, To learn more about working and breastfeeding see our collection of breastfeeding resources.

Benefits for the Environment

The article "A Quick Look at Breastfeeding's Most Revolutionary Year Yet," by Dia Michels describes the environmentally friendly benefits of breastfeeding. Simply put, human milk is delivered without excess packaging or processing and thus contributes to the health of our planet.

Resources for Additional Information:

A variety of benefits to mother and baby articles can be found in our benefits of breastfeeding resource page.
These items are available from the LLLI online store or through your local Leader.
THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, published by La Leche League International, is the most complete resource available for the breastfeeding mother.
La Leche League International's BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, 3rd Revised Edition, by Nancy Mohrbacher and Julie Stock is a popular resource book that includes up-to-date references, expanded information, and three new chapters. This publication is an indispensable resource for all who counsel breastfeeding mothers.

 MY pregnancy staples this week RED RASPBERRY LEAF tea and Water :)