Benefits of Breastfeeding

I have said it on here many times before - I am very pro-breastfeeding. I would never hold it against someone that chose NOT to breastfeed - but for my family, there wasn't a choice. I suppose if I hadn't been able to nurse, then I would have gone to formula (and Julien was on a mix of breast milk/formula in the NICU) - but I didn't have to cross that path.

I am fortunate that I have been successful at nursing, as I know many that haven't been. I have witnessed their feelings of failure (which I don't think they need to feel) and their guilt of using formula (again, I don't think you should feel guilty about how you nourish your child).

I am also a believer in the health benefits of breast milk.  My oldest was in the NICU for 10 days, and I have been told by more than one health professional that his intake of breast milk is probably one of the reasons he recovered so quickly.

Until I had Kyle, I was a little skeptical - I really wondered how they could know for sure that breast milk has so many benefits - here are just a few "un-orthodox" uses for breast milk I had/have heard:

- use it to clean out nasal passages instead of saline
- use it for conjunctivitis (eye gunk)
- to clean your child
- to clear up baby acne
- use on diaper rash
- helps to build immunity and protect against illness

When Kyle was born, I used breast milk to clean his eyes, his nose and it helped to clear up his baby acne.  When he was a few months old, I heard about the diaper rash trick - and it worked there too.

Kyle is 19 mths old, and has never TRULY been sick; he has had the odd case of sniffles, or the start of a cold - but when hubby, Jules and I are knocked flat - he generally gets a very MILD case of whatever we have - and I attribute that to the breast milk he is still getting.

The body is a wondrous thing - it still amazes me that my body can produce the nourishment he needs every day.

breastfeeding and the biting child

When I was nursing Julien, he would go through phases where he would bite me(normally when he was cutting a tooth, and once it was through he would stop. As he got older (closer to 1yr he started to bite on purpose, so I would put him down and not nurse him) he quickly figured out that biting meant no food.

Kyle on the other hand, has started biting me much more frequently than Julien ever did, and at a much younger age. He isn't doing it on purpose, but if I take too long getting the boob ready for him, he will give me a little nip when he goes to latch on - almost as if to say I kept him waiting.

ahh, fun stuff.