There is a breastfeeding carnival on at the moment, a whole mob of people posting on the same subject and linking back to each other, and I thought, in my own little way, it would be nice to participate.
So, here we go, reasons why I love breastfeeding.
1. I am lazy.
2. Really, really lazy
That’s it. I mean, saving Inigo from asthma and allergies was also a motivator, and there are a brazillion other reasons why it’s worth persevering, but for me, laziness is a compelling factor.
No washing and sterilising bottles. No getting up in the middle of the night to warm the bottle. No trip to the supermarket at 9pm because we’ve run out. No scraping together loose change because we’ve run out on the day before payday. No finding three week old dregs under the sofa. No begging cafe staff for hot water for warming. No measuring. No pouring. No mixing. No hassling the kid to finish a bottle, or denying him if he wants more. No stressing about dental caries. No extra environmental burden. No worrying about traveling through Asia and access to clean water.
Now lots of people don’t breastfeed, and don’t worry about these things, or have different priorities, but this is my list. And as a breastfeeding woman who had to artificially feed her son for a few weeks, I feel that I am qualified to talk about this. I’m also a woman who struggled to get breastfeeding established for the first 11 weeks of my babies life, so it’s not like I think the whole thing is easy – but I definitely recognise the advantages of breast over bottle in my life.
Disco Knitter 
That was a big factor for me, also, I am cheap! It sounds like a terrible reason for being pro-breastfeeding but I guess any reason is a good one. Stella is finally showing an interest in the boob again. Phew!
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My reasons were almost as simple – we have breasts that make milk for a reason! Just as cow’s milk is perfect for calves (and any other mammal’s milk is perfect for their young) so does human milk give human babies everything they need for those first few weeks/months of life outside the womb.
I fed my DD for fourteen months and I’m glad to say that she has persisted through the difficulties and her son is fully breastfed.
Not sure about the immunities to asthma though; DD suffered from respiratory infections, mostly in the ears, and had mild asthma as a child despite the breastfeeding.
Cheap and lazy are good reasons too!! LOL
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You’re right about asthma etc – although breastfeeding is protective, it won’t stop asthma in it’s tracks, it just might minimise the effects. I said “asthma and allergies”, because they were my primary reasons for wanting to persevere. I’ve obviously learned a lot since then!
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I did start to comment from my iPod touch but I think the comment vanished into cyberspace (I’m not too fond of the mini keyboard thing). Lara, if the first comment shows up, delete it please. 🙂
I nursed my daughter for the first 3 years of her life and found that she had more ear infections and respiratory ailments than my son who was breastfed for about 3 months. On the other hand my son has more severe allergies/asthma than my breastfed daughter. In both “kids” this problem is fairly mild compared to some people.
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I’m with you! I’ve been doing bottles for 2 months (?) now and I’m totally over it. And I only have to give them 2x a day!!
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I agree. I so couldn’t see myself accurately measuring, sterilising, whatever at 2am.
And I love the fact I never mislaid milk for the baby, or failed to pack enough when invited out for the evening … breasts are part of you, so long as you’re near your baby, you’ve got the food.
Yeah, I did know about the protective stuff too, I know breastmilk is specifically designed for humans, even for the baby’s growth and the weather. But basically I’m really, really lazy too.
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