Pregnant? You have to read this....

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Preparation Forum : One Thread

This is about Nursing (breast feeding) your new baby.

I have three children and nursed all three. I would highly recomend it. With the new year not looking too stable I would VERY highly recomend it.

Advantages.....

1. No mixing involved.

2. No midnight runs to get formula.

3. Portability

4. Always fresh, on demand.

5. Very relaxing for both the mother and infant.

6. No chance of running short of formula, a mothers body automaticly makes as much milk as the baby needs. The ultimate in 'supply and demand'.

7. Even if your baby will be born this year....babies can not have cows milk until they are 12 months old. If there is cows milk available...if not you can keep on nursing them for a while longer.

I'm sure there are many more reasons....Please add them if you think of other things. If you want a really good book on breastfeeding, call the Le'Leachie League (sp), you can get thier number from your local hospital, Lamaze class, or doctor.

Hope this info helped. I truely enjoyed nursing my babies, Y2k or not this will be the best time of your life/ or the worst...it all depends on how you respond to it. Be glad you have a little baby to hold when you get up in the middle of the night, you wont be holding them for long. They grow tall and independent.

-- bulldog (sniffin@around.com), July 29, 1999

Answers

great post! nuff said!!

-- eddy (xxx@xxx.com), July 29, 1999.

I also nursed all mine...even two at a time, although that made me VERY skinny. [grin]

Other reasons?

No need to buy bottles, etc., or sterilize anything. Helps pull the uterus back to normal size. In fact you don't need a shot or something that one doctor was going to give me after birth for this purpose.

It's been said that it reduces the possibility of allergies. Mine turned out to have no allergies, yet I know others who nursed and their kids have tons of allergies.

One warning: It's an old-wive's tale that nursing will prevent conception. Um...I said I nursed two at a time, right? Well, I didn't have twins!

Less chance of colic.

Breastmilk doesn't stain like formula.

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), July 29, 1999.


Other advantages

Baby gets immune system components from mother's milk. These are greatest at the newborn stage, but IMHO opinion are still present throughout the entire nursing duration. Breast fed babies get sick less often than bottle fed babies.

Breast fed babies get less ear infections.

Better bonding between mother and baby. This claim really annoys mothers who bottle fed their babies, but nursing causes hormonal changes in the mother's body which facilitate the bonding process. I'm not saying mothers who bottle feed dont' love their babies or anything even remotely like that, but any nursing mother will tell you that there's a difference.

As a baby nurses, the milk that comes first is more abundant and thinner and lower in fat. As the baby nurses longer, the later milk is richer in fat. The baby can match its consumption to its caloric needs.

What is infant formula? Cow's milk (a fairly common allergen) boiled to make it more digestible for the baby, with corn syrup and synthetic vitamins added. It's an inferior product. Your baby deserves the best.

Bingo, who nursed her two daughters and who would never have had it any other way.

-- Bingo (ecsloma@spectra.net), July 29, 1999.


Hello!

I came from a family where NOBODY had nursed a child - no one to coach me through the first days but thank God for La Leche League and a great nurse at the hospital (male!). My son had to go to the neonatal intensive care unit for about 36 hours after birth and they insisted on giving him bottles so they could "measure" how much he was eating. I pumped colostrum to give him but when I tried to nurse him he had already gotten used to a bottle/nipple. That combined with my inexperience, fear, anxiety caused difficulty. Finally resorted to bottle feeding pumped breast milk.

Every night before going to bed I would snuggle and attempt to nurse my son. On around day 28 he suddenly latched on (what a surprise!) and nursed for nine months after that. Even when I went back to work full time on an ambulance after 2 months I continued to pump while gone and he got bottles of it when hungry. With a good pump (I got the Medela black "purse/pack" style, cig. ltr. adaptor, etc. the process only takes about 5-7 minutes every couple of hours. Well worth the trouble. (Though my partners at work got a few chuckles!).

Please consider it - when you feed a child from your body it really does heighten the bond. Watching him grow and be happy and healthy nourished from ME was very satisfying.

-- Kristi (securx@succeed.net), July 29, 1999.


Though I can't speak from personal experience on this subject (lots of spectating), this is the kind of thread that makes Ms. BigDog (CNM, home and hospital birth) very happy. Naturally, all five of ours were breast-fed.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), July 29, 1999.


Another advantage: Breast fed babies' poop is not nearly so smelly as that of bottle fed babies. This is because the proteins in human milk are compatible with the baby's gastrointestinal tract. Formula has foreign proteins that often decompose internally, passing through undigested.

-- Prometheus (fire@for.man), July 29, 1999.

You need to know that babies' bodies can't process caffeine. The effects last much longer than they do in an adult body, and the caffeine can accumulate to high levels. I didn't know this when I breastfed the first three. They didn't sleep through the night until each was weaned at two years of age. I only had one cup of coffee early in the morning, but it was enough to keep us sleep-deprived for years -- two of the kids were two years apart, and we went four long years without a single full night of sleep. Baby number four sleeps like a log, and I have found I have to also avoid chocolate and tea as well as coffee.

-- Helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), July 29, 1999.

Kristi, congratulations on sticking with nursing even with minimal support. I breast fed our son for 7 months before full time work for me became necessary and I had to supplement with formula. It is hard work to wake up every two hours for three months. Women who nurse deserve a LOT of credit. Kudos to all of us for doing the best for our babies!!!!

-- (y2kfallback@yahoo.com), July 30, 1999.

Just a side note* If times get really bad.... we will have to do things the way our forfathers (mothers) did them. Example....the best time to feed your infant is at night. Let the baby nurse off you while you sleep, she will stay awake most of the night, dosing off and on. Then in the morning, you are perfectly rested, having slept all night and the baby is tired and ready for her long strech of sleep, and that also give you at least 4-6 hours of time to do your thing. I did this while I worked outside our home, I nursed the baby all night and she would sleep most of the day with the babysitter, babysitter would give her one bottle (brestmilk) while I was at work. I have to say it was so easy to do.

It is really hard getting up every night to feed the baby. But you have to feed her either way, bottle or breast. The difference is in the time it takes preping. Nursing is so easy and relaxing and natural.

-- bulldog (sniffin@around.com), July 30, 1999.


bulldog,... great idea for a post! I admire your ability to nurse all through the night. I have nursed all seven of our kids, ranging from 18 months to 2 1/2 years. It's true that I would rather nurse at night than be in the kitchen warming up formula, but extended night feedings have always left me feeling tired and drained. Ah well. It does go by so fast. Just looking at my two teenagers puts that in perspective. Most women who quit seem to do it around 3-5 months. That is so sad, because they have put in all the hard work, comparatively, and miss out on the interaction with the older nursing baby...plus once mine start eating cereal and fruit around 7 to 8 months, I enjoy the ability to be gone longer than 2 1/2 to 3 hours (like on date with my Honey). I can stretch it out a little longer without worrying about the baby going hungry. Our 19 yr. old daughter claimed recently that she thinks she can tell a breastfed baby from a formula baby just by looking at them. She said the nursing babies have a glowing filled out look, while the formula fed babies look a little pasty, ha ha. I had a friend who insisted that she was unable to make nursing work. When she had her fourth baby, I stayed with her, and she successfully nursed for the first time, and was thrilled. It does help to have an experienced nursing mother help the new moms get off to a good start. My advice to new moms after nursing seven of my own: 1. Nurse every 2 1/2 to three hours after Baby is born (from the time you finish to the time you next begin). Ask to hold Baby to breast and nurse immediately after birth. Nurse for about fifteen minutes off each side. Alternate which side you begin to nurse on. Try to keep to that schedule. I differ with Le Leche slightly here, but it gives the baby a chance to digest (translate: less colic). 2. If your newborn sucks like a barracuda and leaves you feeling sore, forget the store bought creams. A midwife told me to massage in vitamin E after nursing and try to be exposed to air awhile. It worked great. 3. Get enough rest. When you are really tired, have Daddy take the baby for a 5-7 hour stretch one night (armed with pacifier and perhaps water in a bottle). Baby and Daddy will survive, and you will wake up feeling like a new woman (just about). 4. You absolutely must be relaxed to make this work, or your milk will not let down. Have Hubby run interference and ward off visitors. You will relax much more if you do not feel that your nursing skills are on display, and this includes relatives. Get alone with Baby, have Hubby bring you lots of water to drink, and when you start nursing, breathe deeply and slowly, and think about giving milk to Baby. It works. Not every baby and mother get off with flying colors, but you can make it work, and it will be worth it!

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), August 01, 1999.


use a breast pump,many women's breasts do not produce enough milk at any given time to keep the baby from becoming dehydrated.This is quite serious,don't play with your baby's health just so you can feel au natural in a fit of hippy dippy joy.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), August 01, 1999.

Might I sudjest you stock formula anyway, you never know when something might happen to the mother of a baby, and you may not be able to nip on down to the nearest store for something to feed the little nipper. Hate to lose one you don't have to.

-- CT (ct@no.yr), August 01, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ