au natural: ten reasons why i've loved nursing

I've started to become more earth-conscious for two reasons: first, I feel convicted to be a better steward of the earth that God put me on and second, it can be cheaper and I love cheaper!  I've been breastfeeding and cloth diapering and making my own spray cleaner. Before you think I'm a weirdo, give me a chance! You might pick up on something you like too.

Muffin is nearing the end of ten months and I can't believe I've been nursing this long! My goal was to make it to a year, which is the recommended amount of time to breastfeed a baby. At first it seemed impossible, I hated it! When I was pregnant it seemed like the logical way to feed a baby, and the easiest! I was not prepared for the first few weeks of feeding a newborn. Don't let anyone tell you that it's a piece of cake, because it is not!

I remember hating it and hating myself for hating it. I felt frustrated for not loving it because it was the natural way to take care of my little one.  It wasn't until after the first growth spurt at three weeks that I finally came to terms with it. If you can make it past those first few weeks, it is worth it! Don't give up!

Whatever obstacles you come through can be combatted with a great support system and a ton of research! Every time I nursed my newborn I had my phone in my hand researching baby center and every resource I could find on breastfeeding. I would read and re-read things until I understood feeding times, what cluster feeding meant, how often to switch sides, etc! Research would comfort me!

Now that Mia is 10 months she has self-weaned to two feedings, morning and night, and she has a bottle of whole milk in the afternoon. My goal is to have her weaned fully by the end of her twelfth month. Once you realize that you won't always be nursing 10 times a day, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I have been blessed to nurse her exclusively without any formula feedings these ten months. Since I work part-time I also pumped during my breaks.

Here are ten reasons why I have loved nursing:

1. It's free! You can't beat free, formula can be so expensive!
2. It's fast. There's no warming up a bottle in the middle of the night or when you're out in public. 
3. It's easy. You don't have to think up what kind of bottle you want or how many scoops you need.
4. It's germ free. No worrying about if the water is clean or if the bottle has been sitting out for too long. 
5. There's no guesswork. Breastfed babies drink as much as they need and want, there's no overfeeding or underfeeding. No worries on if your little one is getting enough nutrition.
6. Unlimited health benefits. There is no discounting the endless amounts of antibodies and nutrients that are essential to growth and development. No chemist can copy God's 'formula'. Also, breast fed babies are less likely to have diabetes, diseases, or be obese!
7. Less spit up/burping. There's no air in this 'bottle' to gulp down, meaning less burping and spit up! And who loves spit up?
8. Bonding time. Although I understand you can do this with a bottle-fed baby, this is more about the skin-to-skin benefits that really help a newborn regulate body temperature. Also, nursing creates a bond between mother and baby that helps with post-partum depression because of the nurturing connection you feel with the little one. 
9. Faster recovery time/dropping baby weight! Nursing helps a new mommy contract everything which helps the healing process accelerate. It also means that baby weight will be lost faster and without any extra steps!
10. Poo isn't as stinky! All poo is stinky, but most people agree that breastfed baby poo isn't as raunchy as formula fed baby poo.

If you can't nurse for whatever reason please understand that I know it doesn't work for everyone! Some women just have a hard time producing enough. Though there are ways to increase your supply I would never encourage a mom to continue hitting her head against a wall and feel frustrated in a way that takes a way from the joy of having a newborn.

Blessed

  

I'm so thankful that God provides for Mia! In the past 24 hours she has been blessed with brand new outfits, bibs, hats, 30+ cloth diapers, and toys and a doll. All from different people. 

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? 29 See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. . . 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" 

So soon I will post about our introduction to cloth diapering. There is so much to catch up on! Mia will be ten months this week, I can't wait to fill you in on our Spring adventures!

so we're sleeping in a snowsuit

Our house is so cold. Well everyone else thinks so anyways. When my parents come to visit, they keep their coats on most of the time. If I push the up button on the thermostat, my husband hits the down button. We joke that it costs $20 every time we hit the up button.

The thing is that our room in an inferno, but Mia's room is the coldest. Don't ask me how. For awhile she was waking up in the middle of the night once she wriggled out of her blanket. So to 'seal her in' I decided to put her to sleep in her snowsuit. I looked this up online and it looks like I'm not the only mom desperate to keep their baby warm and sleepy. Now she can wiggle and roll and still stay warm. 

I think sometimes we as moms can do all the research and get all of the baby equipment and books in an effort to be the best mom in the eyes of others. When it comes down to it, every mom knows whats best for their child because they know them the best, and they have to live with them! I've researched everything under the sun about my baby at every stage along the way, and I consult other moms too. At some point I finally understood that God gave me the mother's intuition to know just what my baby needs from me. Once I let go of the 'standards' and listened to my baby, I felt so relieved! I wasn't worried about nursing vs formula, co-sleeping vs the crib, crying it out vs no crying at all, etc.! 

I've learned that part of being a mom is 'adjustment'. You navigate every situation to decide what is best for your child. At this part of my life I'm adjusting my own social life so that I can keep Mia on her schedule as much as possible. It is more rewarding to have a happy, well fed, and fully napped up baby! And when she goes to bed, I turn the monitor on for my husband and head to any friends house for maybe an hour.

It has been awhile since I've blogged, but I have been learning so much. Thanks for sticking with me :)