Nursing Benefit #542
 

Ok, so there probably aren't that many benefits, but seems like it! I just went in to get my 2nd Depo Provera shot. (Yes, I know the positives and negatives but it works for me). Anyway, the nurse looked at my weight loss and was amazed. I am at pre-pregnancy weight now at 4 months. This is at family planning which is also the WIC office. We decided that if more people knew this benefit of nursing, there would be a lot fewer formula feeders out there.

I'm just very happy for myself and also for the gift I have given my daughter. We live in a very low breastfeeding rate community and I have made it my personal goal to convert women. I just am happy that the weight loss is going along with it.

You know what the top benefit is for me? Sleep. ;) Since I always co-sleep, it never takes my girls long enough to figure out how to wiggle over to the closest nipple & latch on, usually without either of us waking up. And when I do wake up, I just barely rouse, and drop right back to sleep. I love it. If there were no other benefits, I'd nurse just for that one!

My little ones did this too
 

although, my younger daughter never co-slept well, my older daughter did wonderfully at it. My younger daughter slept in the cradle in our room for a long time, but she slept through the night alot sooner. She moved to her own room when she outgrew the cradle.

I don't lose well when I am nursing, but I can lose. I just need to do it. Now is a good time, because Mariella is 17 months, and eating table food well, she just also really really loves her momma

sabra, how right you are! co-sleeping and nursing is about the laziest way possible to feed a baby! people always ask me how many times she wakes at night. honestly, i have no clue! she doesn't even need a diaper change during the night, so it is just roll over and nurse. i usually have a nice big puddle of milk in bed with me from when she unlatches, but i prefer laundry to waking up and making a bottle!

Congrats on your weight-loss!

Stupid question #2 from a first-timer: When you first started co-sleeping weren't you afraid of rolling onto the baby? Thanks for answering :)

Yes, I was afraid that either Shaun or I would roll over onto her. We put her on a sleep positioner that had two wedges on the sides. After a week or two with that, we realized that it isn't an issue. I put her in between the two of us. She snuggles into daddy until she wakes up to eat, then I take her. You are always aware that the baby is there and you get used to just having covers up to your waist. If we were to drink at night, be over tired or sick, or be on a sleeping pill for some reason, I would put her in her crib.

If you are not comfortable with sleeping this way, there is also using a co-sleeper or sidecarring a crib next to your bed so they aren't with you, just close and on the same level. You should only do what is comfortable. Mommy and Daddy need a good night's sleep too and you can't do that if you are worried about the baby!

I am only going to breast feed because of the weight loss benefits! Otherwise, I find very little appeal in it.

Since my son was born (11 month old) I have lost my pre-pregnancy weight and plus some. I never did it for this purpose. I didn't find out about it till I started doing more research. I don't think I can take him off of it b/c he hates the taste of formula and I hate the smell of it also.
And I have been loving life since I started feeding him in bed. Like you said I have no idea how many times he eats during the night.
My son weighes 25 lbs. now

I wasn't scared to co-sleep because my mother co-slept with me, and several other moms in my family co-slept as well. So I already had ample demonstration of its safety (the group leading the US crusade against co-sleeping is the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association--the folks who want to sell you a crib!). Not to mention, it is historically the norm in our society.

Mamas are built to be aware of their baby in bed with them. I can't explain it. You just are. (Obviously, if you are in any way impaired, like by alcohol or prescription drugs, cosleeping isn't safe anymore.) The best way I have heard it explained is...You know your husband is in bed with you, right? We never worry about rolling over onto our spouse. By the same token, you'll know that baby is in bed with you. There is also good evidence that sleeping with mommy helps newborns to regulate their breathing, which is especially beneficial with preemies.

Of course, it's definitely a matter of knowing yourself. Some people are afraid they sleep too deeply to wake up (not something I have found to be a problem personally--I am a very deep sleeper, but the baby is my one area of awareness). Others find that they sleep too lightly, and the baby's presence in bed is disruptive. It's my opinion that at least having the baby in the same room you are in is best, in fact that's part of the latest AAP breastfeeding guidelines (keeping the baby nearby).

Keeping your baby close to hand, whether in your bed or merely nearby it, will do much good for facilitating breastfeeding. The truth about crying is that it is a late indicator of hunger--actions like rooting and grunting come much sooner--and it is exponentially more difficult to nurse an upset newborn. If you have the baby in another room, even with a monitor you're not likely to be awoken by the earliest signs of hunger, and you'll make feeding a lot harder. Not to mention...who wants to have to get up and walk to another room every two hours or so during the night?

We're going to use a bassinett next to the bed (it has see through panels on the side, so I can check on the baby w/o getting up.) I wouldn't be comfortable with the baby in bed with us for several reasons. Whatever sleeping arrangement you come up with, just make sure you research the safety precautions necessary to protect your baby.

I tried the cosleeping and it didn't work for us. I was getting less sleep with the baby in the bed with me than I was with him or her in the bassinette beside the bed. Both of my children started sleeping through the night on their own in the bassinette. Lilly was about 8 weeks old and William was about 3 months old. I did cosleep with William several times but only with him on my belly/chest and that was becuase he had to be held/rocked to help calm his tummy.

Thanks for answering. I am a poor sleeper and have experienced bouts of insomnia for years. I know I would worry if I had the baby in bed with me, so I know I wouldn't get any sleep. I like the idea of the bassinet next to the bed though. I'm going to breastfeed if I can, because I believe it is good for the baby's immunity.

We had one of those wedge (SIDS prevention) things and put our baby in our bed at first. Sometimes we'd put her into the bassinette though. Then we'd wake up and think OH MY GOD WHERE IS SHE??? And my husband would wake up sometimes, half awake really, tearing the covers off the bed screaming, WHERE IS SHE??? thinking she'd slipped down under the comforter and gotten smothered. It was horrible, we got no rest. So we decided, NO sleeping in our bed, so that if we woke up, we'd know she was safely in her own little bed right next to us.

Now, a few times, when it was just me & her in the bed, she would doze off with me, with a pillow on the other side to keep her from rolling off. Guess I was just hopeful - she was way too young to roll over. ;)

That's great that you can lose so much weight from breastfeeding. That was not my experience. I thought something was wrong with me, but I've talked to a few other new moms with the same problem - have to keep up the calories to keep the milk supply up. But, it's more important than shedding pounds - the baby needs the milk then, the weight can come off later.

I've been working hard on not only getting enough calories (which is easy for me!) but getting the right calories. I eat a healthy balanced diet. I also exercise regularly which I think was the main reason I lost weight so efficiently. I just know that breastfeeding helped, it wasn't the only reason. I know a lot of people's body hang on to a few pounds to ensure that the baby gets enough to eat. I had those extra pounds before getting pregnant so I think my body knows it won't starve!

I have a friend that decided not to nurse so that she could go on a restrictive diet and start diet pills after the baby. Truly sad that we feel this pressure to lose weight in such a hurry. Not trying to start a debate on feeding choices, but what a silly reason to not give your baby what is best. I am thankful that it helped me lose the weight. I have heard that it starts burning fewer calories after the child starts solid foods, so I'm sure I'll be hitting a plateau here soon.

Just out of curiosity...

What do you nursing moms (past or present) do for exercise?

I walk daily with Kate in the sling or Bjorn. I also either go to the gym for weights and cardio or do the NYC ballet DVDs twice a week. I really should step it up to three times a week, but it is hard enough to get in two workouts.

Do you fit in a workout whenever you can? Or do you schedule them in?

I am self-employed but I take my daughter to daycare in the afternoons. I usually leave work an hour early on workout days so she is still at the sitters. I have to schedule in the days I choose to do it, otherwise other things come up and I don't get any exercise in.

Do you follow an eating plan?

I had done South Beach in the past and I find it a very healthy plan. I am doing a modified version of Phase 2. I don't really limit my carbohydrates, but choose whole grains instead of refined. I try to fill up on lean meats and veggies and use fruits, fat, and high calorie foods sparingly. I also drink at least two glasses of milk a day and eat a yogurt. I think dairy is too restricted on South Beach.

Way to go Meredith!

There are so many great benefits of breastfeeding and this is just one of them.

response to the weight loss benefit quote
 

I promise you that once you start nursing your baby, you will find more appeal to it than just that.
Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing.
When I was pregnant with my first, I felt the same way you do.
When she was born I quickly learned how wonderful giving sustenance to your child was.
It's almost an unearthly feeling.
Like you and your child are the only two beings on earth at that time.
Only you can provide that nourishment for your baby.
No one else.

Once upon a time as a teenager, I babysat a cousin's formula-fed child. The royal PITA that was made me swear there & then to nurse my own children. Breastfeeding is the ultimate convenience food--you need no special equipment, there's no mixing involved, no making certain you have enough for the outing, nothing extra to carry, and it's always the perfect temperature. And that's leaving aside all the many health benefits for mother and child.

I love nursing in bed. I hardly wake up, usaly when she start grunting for food and then again when she is finshed, so I can roll back on my tummy.

The best thing about bf is when you go somewhere you don't need to take any bottles on your trip. When I had my daughter (Formula fed) 15 years ago, I had to take 2 bottles just to go out for 2 hours. Just to make sure I had enough for her to eat.
And we save so much money. Formula costs soooooo much!

And yet, statistically, it is the women in the lowest socioeconomic classes who are least likely to breastfeed!

So true. I didn't realize that until you said that. Could it be b/c of these Gov. programs? Since I was the first one in either of our families to bf, they were telling me I should stop bf b/c I might be starving my ds. My husband quickly shut them all up by telling them the benifits and also how much money we were saving by bf. I have a sister-in-law who is struggling financialy but she is getting formula through WIC.

I honestly think it is a combination of factors. Lower-income women tend to be less educated on the benefits of breastfeeding, WIC apparently doesn't push it, God knows doctors don't in my experience...And, well, if you have to work for a living, breastfeeding is infinitely more difficult. Lots of women have to fight for time & a place to pump.

Some women really don't enjoy it, even find it painful beyond the first weeks of sore, cracked nipples. She shouldn't be made to feel odd because she doesn't like it. I have known women who pumped because they were just very disgusted by the whole idea - whether a physiological cause, the way they were raised, whatever, who knows why - but they still understood the benefits of breastfeeding and took care to give their babies breastmilk anyway.

my son now 7months old.....was born via C-section 5 days late he was almost 10lbs. he had extra fluid in his lungs and was sent to another hospital that had a great nicu unit. he was only supposed to be there for a day then was to be returned well that didn't work out, that night my husband was with him and he developed seizures (they can't figure out why he had them) he's all better now and i was moved to that hospital 2 am monday morning he had been there since 11:00 pm saturday night.

but since he couldn't latch on right away although he tried. (cause he was breathing way to hard to latch on) i still pumped for him, i delt with cracked nipples my nipples sometimes bleeding. but they had to measure his food intake and for a few days was fed thru a feeding tube. but 10 days later i was able to nurse him.

but it's a womans choice to do it or not. and he has to be supplemented with formula cause he wasn't gaining enough. but i'm still Breast feeding him and he's eating prepared foods ( i grinde up all his food no point in buying baby food).

Good for you Zacksmom,
I also went through my struggles with nursing. Sore nipples, bleeding, growth spirts, and also bad latches on one breast. But by 13 weeks he was doing great. I had people telling me to quit, no one would fault me for not going all the way. My son hated formula, I just couldn't imagine doing that to him b/c I was uncomfortable. Believe me I cryed many times. Called LLL almost every other day. I would call my husband at work and tell him, I wanted to quit. It was not easy. Even now I still have problems with that same breast.

I know the WIC offices around here really try to push B/F now. They offer you a pump after you've been exclusivley BF for six weeks (as long as you aren't getting the formula vouchers) and you personally can stay on the program for a year (instead of 6 months) and they give you carrots and tuna (I know not a whole lot) in addition to everything else on there. It could just be and Okla. thing or a rural thing, I'm not sure.

I am, and will remain, a nursing partisan. It is one of the most important things you can do for your child. Breastmilk is species-specific. I am glad formula is there for women who need it, but I'm not going to be supportive of switching to formula just because you're not losing weight breastfeeding. There are a lot of women who have difficulty nursing but stick with it because they know it is the best thing for their child.

exactly I agree with you 100%

I have to confess - even though I plan on BF'ing, I don't know how I'm going to stop laughing because it is the one thing that freaks me out the most about having a baby...more than labour. It's not that I think BF'ing is gross, but I have heard so many horror stories about how much it hurts...I'm afraid of the complications, pain, bleeding and infection.

But I also think that a baby getting food out of my boobs is hilarious too...maybe my laughter will override the pain...

There are alot of women who have bf with no problems. Unfortunately I was not one of them. The best thing to do if you are really serious about bf, you should find a lactation consultant.
I also felt weird about bf before I had my son b/c I had no idea what it would feel like much less what I was doing. Not until after weeks of problems is when I finally sought help.
If you do look for a LC it would be better to go to a private LC. My SIL went through her hospital, once she had the baby they went completely against her efforts to bf. She ended up going through depression thinking she was a bad mother b/c she couldn't bf.

Honestly, until I got pregnant again, it felt good. It sort of feels like sucking on your finger. If it hurts, it's a good sign something's wrong with the way your baby is latched on. The only time it ever hurt (again, not counting while pregnant) was when I didn't have whichever daughter latched on right. Mostly, it felt like a relief. It's hard to explain. It's like, my breasts would get so full, so when the baby started to nurse there was a wonderful release of pressure.

Of course, now that I'm pregnant again, half the time it's like my nipples are being stabbed repeatedly with needles. But I've moved from a point where it seemed like it would be an incredible accomplishment to nurse for 10 or 12 months to where 18 months is just too young to think of weaning. :)

i know what your saying, i love nursing my son and the only time it hurt was in the begining where i couldn't nurse him and i had to pump. his nursings are down to 1-2 aday he's being supplemented with formula the pedtrition didn't thing he was getting enough i mean in the begining he would nurse 15 mins each side every 1 1/2.

so know he's kinda weaning himself. the ped. said nurse him as long as i can. my friend with her son he weaned himself at 4 months he prefered the bottle. her daughter know just turned a yr. i think weaned her self at 10 months and was being supplemented and now drinks regular milk.

so i'm kinda emotional right now that my son is weaning himself. but i don't want to force him to BF, my husband is trying to comfort me by saying that we did it past 6 months and that's the important part. but if i have another one i can't wait to BF him or her it's the best feeling in the world.

I'm sorry, but that is normal, and if your pediatrician led you to believe that meant you had a low supply, then he did you a grave disservice. There is only one way to truly diagnose low supply--by weighing a baby immediately before and immediately after a feeding, on a digital scale capable of measuring in grams. Of course, as mama you'd be able to tell if he was still hungry immediately after nursing. A baby who isn't getting enough at the breast is going to nurse frantically and cry in hunger.

Far too many mamas are sabotaged--and yes, I use that word on purpose--by their pediatricians. I have heard low supply being "diagnosed" through such specious means as baby not gaining weight as quickly as the pedi thinks he should (breastfed babies tend to gain on a slower schedule than formula-fed babies), baby nursing too often, baby nursing too long or not long enough, or--my personal favorite as far as crap--only being able to pump an ounce or two at a time, even after sitting with the pump at your breast for 30 minutes. {As I've said in other threads, even at the time I had to keep a towel handy while nursing because of profuse leakage from the "free" breast, I could never pump more than 2oz at a time.} And then of course the immediate advice is "supplement with formula," and as too many women have found out, babies often prefer the method of feeding that gives them food the fastest. Not to mention the fact that supplementing WILL damage your supply, because your body isn't getting the stimulation of your baby nursing as often, and thinks it doesn't need to produce as much, so of course you wind up supplementing more and you get less stimulation, so you produce less milk--it is a vicious circle.

Dammit, though, you ought to be able to count on your pediatrician to have your child's best interests (and yeah, breastmilk is your child's best interest!) in mind, and to do everything s/he can to encourage the nursing relationship. I would love to see it required of all medical professionals who work with new and nursing moms that they must become IBCLC certified, or at least attend regular classes given by La Leche League, or some other group that is well-educated about breastfeeding, since most doctors aren't.

(Shanna, please don't think I am attacking you here. I am attacking your pediatrician.)

i know your not attacking me. we did weigh him immediately before and after being fed. and after feeding he would just do this awful cry arching his back while he was doing it. and he was loosing weight not gaining weight. but by the age of 6 months he was nursing alot but not gaining any weight and he was loosing weight so that's why we supplemented him. i'm still trying to nurse him 2 times aday, and he has the playtex bottle with the slow flow nipple. but with the BF and supplementing and the solid foods he's growing like a weed.

Its funny but in some cases asking your ped if they are pro bfing doesn't mean anything. My SIL swore her ped was pro bfing, they completely will do a 180 once the baby is born. When I had my son I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
He was hospitalized for Jaundice. All the nurses in my doctors office went totally against me bfing my son. They told me I wasn't producing enough for him. This of course stressed me out so much that I started not to produce enough (if that made any sense). While he was in the hospital I pumped the first time there, I pumped 6 oz. The nurse told me I had to pump the same amount every 3 hours if I didn't want them to give him formula. B/c or all the stress I couldn't even produce 2 oz. To make matters worse he started to eat more. So they ended up giving him formula. He made the uglyest face when he first took a drink, he spit it all up then when he finally downed some he ended up throwing it all up. They started telling me he had to eat something, my husband insisted I bf him right there. They resisted at first, then they finally alowed me to bf my own son. He ate alot and kept it in his tummy.
They did end up giving him formula eventually, since I couldn't pump that much.
He was in there for 3 days. The first 2 days I didn't sleep at all. The third day the dr. told me the best thing for me and the baby would be to get some rest. So my husband took me home. It did do the trick, the next morning I was so full :)
Now he is a 25 lb. 1 y/o. He started weighing in the 20's at around 8 months.

Thanks for the advice :)

One more benefit to breast feeding is that when your significant other makes you angry, a good squirt in the eye will usually shut him up :devil: Oh yes I most certainly DID do that.

I breastfed both of my kids. I had my daughter in California and they were very very supportive (the midwife and the hospital staff), but I had my son in Texas and they all acted like I had the plague or something. I didn't discuss it before his birth, but I mde it extremely clear in the hospital afterwards and I guess they were just too stunned to say anything because they all just started looking around at each other like they didn't know what to do or say. Neither of my kids EVER drank formula- we tried at one point because I got sick when my daughter was small and it was highly contagious, but she just screamed for the two days I couldn't breastfeed. I'm not sure anyone ever got her to take the formula. Then again, I was pretty delirious the whole time. I pumped a few times and tried to get my son to drink from a bottle and he screamed too. He apparently did not like the fake nipple. I think it is BEST to breastfeed and also pump and feed from a bottle VERY early on otherwise, they might reject the bottle completely and you never know when a situation might come up that you NEED to be away for a feeding or two.

The worst part about it was the drying up. I didn't take anything to help with that and I was so swollen and red- it hurt so bad. I wouldn't have had it any other way though.

Breastfeeding is wonderful.. I felt quite ambivalent about it before my daughter was born, but once those first few tough weeks were past it developed into a lovely relationship that we still enjoy now she is a toddler.. I wouldn't have it any other way. I think that it definitely help with reducing my past partum weight as well.

I hear you on the fake nipple issue. I tried to get both my girls to take bottles, and they just would NOT. Bobbie took one bottle of EBM during our one trip to church when she was a newborn (she had colic, and happiness & joy her fussy time turned out to be the same time as services!). Linda never would. And goodness, we tried bottle after bottle and nipple after nipple with her, because I was determined to start young enough that she would take a bottle. She looked at me like I was trying to kill her. :lol: I'm at the point where I'm not sure if I'll bother with #3 or plan on relying on a syringe or cup if it truly becomes necessary. I'm not looking forward to another round of the bottle/nipple dance, or of having to pump six times to have enough for one bottle.

I have always declined to discuss breastfeeding with pediatricians as much as possible. I have been met not with disdain, but with utter amazement that I was still nursing my first after four months. The main frustration I encountered was in the hospital where they required me to keep a feeding log. The nurses obviously had no training in the differences in feeding patterns between breastfed and formula fed babies. I finally just filled in what I knew they'd want to see. ;) Too many seem hung up on time breastfeeding. I remember going to Linda's very first appointment and being asked the usual questions: How often does she nurse? For how long? The poor corpsman, there was no place on the paper for my answers: "I don't know; I look at my baby, not at the clock."

This was my main annoyance with the whole hospital birth experience as well. They told me from the first feeding, "You want to feed her every three hours during the day and every four hours at night." Now, how is a newborn baby supposed to know that's it's nighttime and so she can't be fed for another hour??? And do THEY always get hungry in three-hour intervals? I'm 26 years old and sometimes I feel hungry an hour or two after eating and need a snack! So, I also started fibbing and telling them, "Oh yeah she nursed for 10 minutes on each side at 8:00 and 10 minutes on each side at 11:00." Like any baby is going to be that robotic. :dizzy: