We have all heard the part about how good it is for your baby and the immune system benefits, but I would like to know what your favorite part of nursing is. For me :
1. Im extremely cheap so I really like that it saves us a ton of money
2. My baby cluster feeds at bedtime which means hes quiet during the whole episode of the bachelor pad
3. Its a perfect excuse to get a break from my inlaws on holidays, please excuse me I have to feed the baby
4. I get breaks at work in a quiet place, I can even read my book undisturbed
Thats all I can think of now, how about you?
Lol, I forgot not having to change the catbox. Im not sure if toxoplasmosis is a danger when you are nursing or just during pregnancy, but I definitely told my dh that it is, so as long as I nurse, no catbox changing for me.
you dont have to warm anything up or if it got too hot redo it or let it cool.
Easy when we were camping no mess of water and formula
gave me some time to sit down and actually relax.
and watching the drunk face they get as they doze off to sleep while still attached.
LOL yes! Okay, so it's baby's best nutrition, blah, blah, blah, but let's face it, it's free and it's easy, especially for a SAHM. It was hard enough to feed a baby around the clock, I can't imagine adding in all the extra work and expense bottles require. The food was always there, warm and ready to go :)
I agree with pretty much everything below, but I will add... instant tantrum stopper! Screaming baby? Insert boob and...ahhhh, peace!!! Yeah for lazy parenting :)
ETA: Hee hee...snooze buttons...
I lost 40 pounds in 6 months! ;D
Not having to get up and heat up a bottle in the middle of the night was a big sell for me. Heck not dealing with cleaning the bottles was a big sell.
Yes that is right, breastfeeding! the right choice for the lazy!!
This is mostly tongue in cheek but there were a fair few times I was glad I had a milk fountain.
The instant relaxation it gives!!! The easy access. The not having to get up and MAKE a bottle. The reason to not wear under wire bra's. I could go on forever.
Main one... BF leaves them ALONE!
Whip out a boob - that person you don't like that you want to get away from? They can't leave fast enough!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheap, easy and portable.
It's efficient. I never had to sanitize bottles, carry formula, mix and pour.
Allowed me to stay in a comfy nursing bar, rather than going back to my underwires right away.
Feeding my son in the morning gave me more time to doze. They were like two snooze buttons LOL!
I loved having big boobs. First and only time in my life.
The end result is that they are now little dog ears. Oh well. For a while it was magnificent.
On a more serious note, I really loved the time I got to spend with my little one. We lay in bed together and it was so peaceful. Her little eyes closed, hands wrapped around any part of me, she was perfect. Such a dreamy period of time.
For me it was a highly effective In-Law Repellent! Freaked them out to see me do it. They couldn't even TALK about. Cringed everytime they heard the word BREAST. In fact, while I was nursing a baby, all in-law visits were blessedly short, and few and far between!
:)
My biggest perks..
1. Cost! Holy cow, free food for a year!
2. Shallow, but my boobs were HUGE! It was awesome! I went from a teeny-tiny B-cup to almost a D! Poor hubby, couldn't enjoy them without getting a squirt to the face. lol. Sadly, I quickly rejoined the itty-bitty-titty-committee once my DD weaned. :(
3. Convenience. Especially since, for some reason, when my DD was around 3 months old our apartment complex had a lot of water issues, and our water was turned off at least 2-3 times a week, for most of the day. It was so nice not stressing about having enough water to make her formula!
People always wanted to hold the baby - or take her and "give me a break" while she was trying to nap (um, I need a break when the kids are NOT napping!). I had a cloak I used as a nursing cover - it was so big, no one could tell if baby was sleeping or nursing. She got a lot of naps that way, I got a lot of snuggle time.
Crossword puzzles and books. I could nurse sitting cross-legged on my bed baby in my lap on her boppy, with a pillow in front of me with my book or crossword puzzle propped on it. Got a lot of reading done.
I'm with Tracy on the efficiency. My diaper bag had a change of clothes, two diapers, and a pack of wipes. If I even carried a diaper bag - sometimes, the diapers and wipes just got tossed in my purse.
No cost..Easy....no fuss...no muss...
Got really private time with my babies.
Weight loss!!! (YAHOO!!)
however, I did pump. So I did have to sanitize bottles and the breast pump. But it also allowed my husband bonding time with his boys.
I hear ya, LOL. Lots of money saved by not buying formula. Gave me a chance to sit down for a while. It's nice not to have to mix formula, clean bottles, blah blah blah. Always accesible.
Oh My! I forgot all of those great benefits. I so love #3! and so wish I could still take advantage of it.
I'll add, you get to lay on the couch, watching tv, while husband gets dinner ready, because, you know, the baby has to nurse!
Laying in bed to feed the baby in the morning while husband gets up with the crazy wild toddler.
Living in a "nursing tank" and sweat pants for my entire maternity leave.
Just reading your question, I thought immediately:
Your #3.
I also loved having a reason to take baby away from those I didn't want to hold her.
And, it was something only *I* could do. All selfish reasons, and I'm good with that. :)
I'm so JEALOUS!! I have no choice but to bottle feed my baby. I wish I could breast feed.
# 1. Money
#2. Special BFing treatment. I wouldn't have to even get up at night. I fed the the baby. That left the getting up ,grabbing the baby & changing the baby for my husband. I got to the point, where I barely woke up some nights.
Not hav ing to wash bottles!
I left the stupid bottles at the sitters for her to wash, all I had t wash was pump parts!
When I did breastfed my son it was bonding time for me. Also it helped me get away from our roommates for a while. That and I was also able to read the news on my phone in peace and quiet. I did breastfeed my son when we went to his parents house and that was a good thing cause it got me away from my MIL.
1.Bonding with baby
2.they are less sick,even with colds
3.it does save money have you seen the prices of formula
4.lessens the risk of SIDS,breastfeed babies get up more in the middle of the night to eat,not saying that bfed babies don't die from SIDS it happens unexpected
5.when baby is loved by a bfed mama they are less fussy/gassy
6.they fall asleep while nursing it is such a joy to see
#1) A good excuse to take your newborn back from all the well-meaning friends and relatives who want to hold the baby. When hey - I'm the mom and I want to hold the baby too!
#2) I got my own office at work because no one wanted me to pump in a cubicle and make everyone else uncomfortable and we don't have a lactation room.
The women in my family don't produce milk; it's a weird genetic defect, so I wasn't able to breastfeed at all.
I've had a great time reading all of these responses, though! :)
Having done both I will add but also dispel some myths:
getting bellow my pre-pregnancy weight
Not having to make a bottle in the night or get out of bed first thing in the morning.
Not having to cart around formula
having my hands free to use the remote while I nursed (bottle feeding takes all your hands, so its hard even to read a book)
However its not cheaper than formula when you factor in the extra 500 calories a day for mom. I think its a wash.
quiet moment to feed happens with boobs or bottle
and of corse theres the down side, you can't nudge your husband at 3:00 a.m. and tell him it his turn to wake up and feed the baby!
