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The TOP 10 SELFISH Reasons to Breastfeeding

When my Ob/Gyn mentioned breastfeeding at my first prenatal appointment, I stared at him and blinked. I knew as much about breastfeeding as I did about, say, playing the harpsichord.
 So I did what any writer would do:
I research. I Googled and I collected brochures. I combed through books and websites and newsgroups. My frenetic digging led to a "duh" conclusion: of course I would breastfeed. The health implications of not doing so were too numerous to ignore. I accepted nursing as just another given in becoming a mother. like morning sickness or not being able to paint my toenails.
Now for the confession:
I'm a bit selfish. Oh, who am I kidding? My world most definitely revolves around me. As the youngest of seven, I was pretty much wired to be egocentric. Since I knew nursing was likely to come with difficulties in the first few weeks - nipple pain, engorgement, panic over wondering if the baby was still hungry - I didn't exactly expect to have a good time at it. I viewed nursing as my first unselfish act as a mother, done simply for the sake of my baby's health. When Sky arrived, I strengthened my resolve and gritted my teeth through those first few weeks. Believe me, at time I had to. But then it got easier. As time whizzed by and my daughter started morphing into the little person she was to become, nursing become almost effortless and "selfish" took on a whole new meaning.
Breastfeeding, I realized, was a pretty self-serving way to feed. The reasons I came to love breastfeeding were nothing I had read about before, even with all my research. But it was true: nursing was all about me.
If you're still on the fence about feeding, I'm here to tell you that there are many reasons for nursing that go beyond immunities and nutrition. Allow me to share ten things the brochures don't tell you....
■ Tear termination: A nursing baby can't cry. By now I've lost count of how many times Sky has bumped her head or woken from a nightmare, and each time I was able to soothe her immediately by putting her to my breast.

■ I get lots of sleep: No kidding. When Sky wakes to eat in the middle of the night, I never have to leave my bedroom (or even my bed), squinting in the light and tripping over the rug.

■ Diminished diaper duty: As my husband - I wouldn't win any medals for my diaper changing skill, and it's one of my least-favourite maternal task. Imagine my relief to discover that breastfed babies' bottoms are frightfully easy to clean. Their diaper also smell better than formula-fed babies'. Sceptical? Ask daycare providers; they've seen (and smelled) them side-by-side!

■ Travel's a breeze: When I leave the house for 5 minutes, 5 hours or 5 days, I never have to remind my scattered, new-mom self to bring a clean water source to mix with formula. Heck, I don't even have to remember to pack bottles, which would no doubt end up as petri dishes in my car.

■ Illness intuition: I have a thermometer, but before I'm even aware I have to take her temperature, I can tell Sky isn't feeling well by the way her mouth feels on my nipple. And friends have told me they could detect a change in fever by the dryness of their baby's mouth.

■ No counting, measuring, or cleaning: It's surprisingly freeing to know that your baby is regulating her own hunger. My baby eats what she wants, when she wants, and I do no measuring, counting or mixing... ever. I never was very good at math. Or, for that matter, chemistry. If I had to wash bottles, well, we're back to the petri dishes.

■ Recall relief: Every time a recall is announced on formula (at least for that I'm aware of since Sky's birth), I sigh with relief that I get to escape that momentary panic, rushing to check the fine print on the cans in my pantry. For that matter, I'm glad I don't have to keep track of those cans - something else I know I'd be bad at. I can just see myself driving in circles trying to find an all-night store.

■ I'm cheap: Baby stuff can sure add up, even if you manage to resist the wipe warmer and matching diaper stacker. From the get-go, Sky's food has been free.

■ No food fights: If Sky is inexplicably refusing what's on her high chair, despite the fact that she's consumed it happily and without fuss dozens of time before, I don't have to worry about her missing out on nutrition. She can always nurse.

■ Easy plane rides: The last time we flew I got a compliment. "Best baby I've ever sat next to," said the man one row behind as we unbuckled our seatbelts to deplane. I opted not to share my strategy.

About the author: Sandra Boncek Hume is a contributing editor for "ePregnancy" who works from her home office in Kansas and really, really, really likes Tivo.
Source: "ePregnancy"

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